Drax has appointed global technology and engineering firm Voith Hydro to progress plans for its proposed 600MW underground pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) project in Scotland.
The 600MW Hollow Mountain power station will be built at Argyll’s highest mountain, Ben Cruachan, next to the company’s 440MW PHES Cruachan station. The two will share the existing upper reservoir, as its 2.4 billion liters of water has sufficient capacity for both.
A new hollowed-out cave will be built, with more than a million tons of rock excavated to create the space within the mountain. Exploratory earthworks are underway at the site, with seismic surveys being carried out to obtain crucial geological data on the rock that would house the new factory.
Voith Hydro will complete a Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) study for the mechanical and electrical components of the design.
Drax’s proposals received development consent from the Scottish Government last year, but the project’s continued progress requires a renewed policy and market support mechanism from the UK Government, which has been criticized by the energy industry.
This article first appeared in our sister publication Current±.
