Drax has appointed engineering consultants Studio Pietrangeli to optimise its plans to build a 600MW pumped hydro plant.
Drax is progressing plans to build a new underground plant adjacent to its existing underground Cruachan facility in Argyll, Scotland.
Studio Pietrangeli will act as owner’s engineer on the project, supporting key activities including optimising the detailed design and layout of the new plant, providing expertise around the major civil engineering components of the project.
This will include the excavation and tunnelling of rock within Ben Cruachan and preparing the specifications for a front end engineering and design study.
Drax’s Scottish assets director Ian Kinnaird said: “This is a significant moment in Drax’s planned expansion of Cruachan.
“The scale of the proposed development matches Drax’s ambitions when it comes to tackling the climate crisis.
“More than 2 million tonnes of rock will be excavated to create a new cavern inside the mountain which will be big enough to house Big Ben on its side.
“Pumped storage hydro is vital to strengthening the UK’s energy security by enabling more homegrown renewable electricity to come online, cutting the need to import power or fossil fuels from abroad.
“This will be a major infrastructure project which will support hundreds of jobs and provide a real boost to Scotland’s economy.”