The operator of an underground power station in Scotland, the Cruachan hydro storage plant, has put on hold its plans for a major expansion of the site. Drax, the developer, had proposed building a new hydro-electric facility next to its existing complex inside Ben Cruachan, a mountain near Dalmally in Argyll.
But it now says the costs of the project had risen and it would not be bidding for UK government support at this time. The expansion could go-ahead in the future, said Drax, “subject to an appropriate balance of risk and return”.
When opened in 1965 the Cruachan plant was the first large-scale reversible turbine storage energy project in the world. Drax had proposed investing £500m in the 600 MW expansion, named Cruachan II, over seven years. In 2024, it completed initial design and engineering work for a 600 MW expansion of Cruachan.
In a company statement Drax said: “Drax believes that the Cruachan II project is well aligned with the long-term system need for flexible generation and energy storage and, given its location, is well placed to support system constraints between Scotland and England.”
“Drax remains committed to disciplined capital expenditure which seeks to balance the risk and return of individual projects against other uses of capital, to maximise value.”
