This list of power stations in Scotland includes current and former electricity-generating power stations in Scotland, sorted by type. Scotland is a net exporter of electricity and has a generating capacity of over 10 GW. None of this is generated by conventional oil- or gas-burning power stations. Instead there is one large gas turbine power station and one large nuclear power station, as well as several hydro-electric schemes, predominantly in the Highlands, comprising over 80 generating stations with a combined capacity of 1.4 GW. Scotland also has an increasing number of wind farms, due to the large proportion of upland areas. As of July 2010, there were 100 operating wind farms in Scotland with a combined capacity of 8 GW, and a further 96 projects under construction or consented, with capacity of 2 GW.[1] A number of other power plants include experimental wave power and tidal power generators, and Steven's Croft near Lockerbie, which is the UK's largest wood-fired biomass power station.[2] Since 2016, no coal-fired power stations operate in Scotland.[3]
A pink background denotes a power station that is no longer operational.
Nuclear power stations
Coal-fired
Oil- and gas-fired
Hydro-electric
Pumped-storage hydro-electric
Hydroelectricity relies on gravity to propel water through power-generating turbines. The difference in height between the turbine and the water source is known as the "head". Scotland has two pumped-storage hydro-electric power stations, which pump water back up to a storage reservoir during periods of off-peak demand. Although claimed to be the first such station in the world when it opened in 1965 by the Visit Cruachan website, Drax Group PLC's Cruachan Power Station[15] was preceded by the Ffestiniog Power Station in North Wales, which opened in 1963,[16] and on a smaller scale by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board's Sron Mor power station opened in 1957, part of the Shira Hydro-Electric Scheme. Cruachan can hold 7 GWh of energy, equivalent to 22 hours of full production. 12 hours is reserved for black start.[17]
Wind power
Onshore
Offshore
Others
See also
Bibliography
External links
- Includes a list of currently generating power stations in the United Kingdom
References
- UKWED Statistics RenewableUK, retrieved 2010-08-02^
- Green power station site opened BBC News, 19 March 2008, retrieved 2008-06-27^
- After 115 Years, Scotland Is Coal-Free ThinkProgress^