Cruachan Dam
| Cruachan Power Station | |
|---|---|
The dam containing the upper reservoir
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| Country | Scotland |
| Location | Argyll and Bute |
| Coordinates | 56°24′23″N 05°06′47″W / 56.40639°N 5.11306°WCoordinates: 56°24′23″N 05°06′47″W / 56.40639°N 5.11306°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | 1959 |
| Commission date | 15 October 1965 |
| Owner(s) | Scottish Power |
| Pumped-storage power station | |
| Upper reservoir | Cruachan Reservoir |
| Upper res. capacity | 10,000,000 cubic metres (350,000,000 cu ft) |
| 19 km (12 mi) | |
| Lower reservoir | Loch Awe |
| Hydraulic head | 396 m (1,299 ft) |
| Pump-generators | 4 |
| Power generation | |
| Nameplate capacity | 440 MW (590,000 hp) |
| Annual output | 705 GWh (2,540 TJ) (2009) |
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Website www |
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The Cruachan Power Station (also known as the Cruachan Dam) is a pumped-storage hydroelectric power station in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The turbine hall is located inside Ben Cruachan, and the scheme takes water between Cruachan Reservoir to Loch Awe, a height difference of 396 metres (1,299 ft). It is one of only four pumped storage power stations in the UK, and is capable of providing a black start capability to the National Grid.
Construction began in 1959 to coincide with the Hunterston A nuclear power station in Ayrshire. Cruachan uses cheap off-peak electricity generated at night to pump water to the higher reservoir, which can then be released during the day to provide power as necessary. The power station is open to visitors, and around 50,000 tourists visit it each year.
The power station is on the A85 road, about 8 km or 5 miles west of Dalmally, on a branch of Loch Awe leading to the River Awe, which is the outflow from the loch, at its NW corner. There is a seasonally open Falls of Cruachan railway station nearby.
Construction commenced in 1959, and the power station was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 15 October 1965. The concept was designed by Sir Edward MacColl, who died before it opened. The civil engineering works of the scheme were by James Williamson & Partners of Glasgow, and the main project contractors were William Tawse of Aberdeen and Edmund Nuttall of Camberley. Consultant electrical engineers were Merz & McLellan of Newcastle on Tyne. At the peak of the construction, there were around 4,000 people working on the project. Thirty-six men died in the construction of the power station and dam, and the cost of the scheme was GB£24.5 million.
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