Dinowig Hydro-electric pumped storage scheme
The Dinowic hydro-electric pumped storage scheme in North Wales, known as the “electric mountain” or the “spinning reserve”, acts like a giant rechargeable battery holding water in its reservoir until the national grid electricity demand is high and warrants the release of water through its hydro-electric plant. Six Francis pump storage turbine were built and supplied for this project with a total output of 1,900MW.
This project was the replacement and refurbishment of four 100MW water turbines, for the Cruachan Hydroelectric Power Station in Argyll, Scotland. It also entailed building two new 60 tonne Main Inlet Valves and refurbishing two existing units, which all feed stored water to the turbines. This contract formed part of an £18.5 million plant upgrade by owners Scottish Power, which will boost peak power by another 20%.
DavyMarkham had the resources to perform all the machining, fabricating, assembly and testing in-house, its state-of-the-art machine tools were ideal for hydropower projects, and its handling and logistics capabilities for shipping huge fabrications. Its procurement facility was also able to source quality castings and other bought-in components, both locally and across Europe.
