Cemex has recently commenced supply of an overall 10,000 tonnes of Silo Sprayed Concrete to Coire Glas, a new pumped storage scheme in a remote area of the Scotland Highlands.

Coire Glas is a pumped hydro storage scheme in Scotland with a potential capacity of up to 1,500MW.  It is the first large-scale pumped storage project to be developed in the UK for more than 40 years and would more than double Great Britain’s existing electricity storage capacity. Pumped storage schemes involve two bodies of water at different heights. During periods of low demand and/or surplus generation, electricity is used to pump water from the lower loch to the upper reservoir, storing energy. The energy is then released by using the water to generate hydro-electricity at a time when demand is high and/or other variable generation is low.

The exploratory works at Corie Glas involves the creation of a tunnel approximately four metres wide and up to one kilometre long, cutting into the hillside towards the proposed location of the underground powerhouse complex.

Given the remote location, high elevation and challenging weather conditions, the contractor Strabag UK uses specialised all-terrain vehicles and helicopters to access the site and transport equipment.  The Cemex team transported our sprayed concrete some 370 miles from Dove Holes to the site on Loch Lochy, 45 miles north of Fort William in the Highlands. The roads were challenging, being narrow and steep but the teams did a fantastic job to overcome the complicated challenges and have commenced supply.

Of the project’s estimated cost of over £1 Billion, more than 70% is in the civil engineering structures that Cemex are supplying with our Silo Sprayed Concrete to create the all-important tunnels.