Nestled within the Scottish Highlands, the Cruachan Dam is an unlikely tourist hotspot.
On weekday mornings, busloads of holidaymakers fill the visitor centre’s cafe overlooking Loch Awe, a two-hour drive from Glasgow, or wander through an exhibition charting the project’s history. A hike up to the dam and reservoir 1,300ft above offers views of snow-capped peaks or grasslands stretching southwards out to Inveraray.
The real secret of the “Hollow Mountain”, however, is a 63-year-old underground power station at the forefront of Britain’s energy revolution.
The facility, which shifts water between the reservoir and the loch below, was originally built to siphon excess energy from nuclear plants at night. With capacity to power almost 900,000 homes at a moment’s notice, it was the first hydro facility of its kind when opened by the Queen in 1965.
But according to parent company Drax, its future role will be even more important. The reservoir can be used to store surplus energy from wind farms, while the power station could help to smooth out peaks and troughs in electricity transmission.
Drax is planning a £500m expansion to more than double Cruachan’s capacity to about 1 gigawatt – enough to power two million homes.
It is one of several innovative projects being considered across the UK as the National Grid plans for a largely “decarbonised” system in the push to go green – and it is also seen as a way of boosting our energy security. Read on: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/03/19/hollow-mountain-key-unlocking-britains-energy-security/
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