{"id":1906892,"date":"2026-04-28T13:27:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T10:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1906892"},"modified":"2026-04-28T13:27:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T10:27:11","slug":"first-solar-panels-in-place-at-historic-hydro-power-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1906892","title":{"rendered":"First solar panels in place at historic hydro power network"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/4ce8\/live\/a2911080-42f6-11f1-ac78-2112837ce2aa.png”]<\/p>\n

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\"DraxDrax<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The Galloway and Lanark hydro networks have been in place for the best part of a century<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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The first in a series of solar panel projects has been completed on a historic hydro power station network in southern Scotland.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Renewable energy firm Drax plans to put about 1,500 panels in place across the Galloway and Lanark sites – which are the best part of a century old.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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They have now been installed at Glenlee near Dalry in Dumfries and Galloway with more to follow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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They are aimed at meeting the hydro scheme’s back-up power needs which it currently pays to get from the local electricity grid.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"GettyGetty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The Galloway scheme opened in 1935<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Drax bought the hydro scheme – which provides enough energy to power more than 400,000 homes – in late December 2018.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Lanark system is made up of two power stations: one at Bonnington near New Lanark and one at Stonebyres near Lanark.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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It is one of the oldest in the UK and was commissioned in 1926.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Galloway scheme opened nine years later and comprises six power stations at Drumjohn, Kendoon, Carsfad, Earlstoun, Glenlee and Tongland which run from north of Carsphairn to near Kirkcudbright.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"DraxDrax<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Solar panels are now in place at Glenlee<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Mike Wynd, Drax’s head of hydro, said it was an “exciting new chapter” for the schemes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“By combining modern solar panels with our mature hydro systems, we’re moving the company closer to its net zero by 2040 ambitions,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“These power stations have made a remarkable contribution to Scotland’s energy needs, generating renewable electricity for almost a century.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Through this solar power project, we are setting them up for a bright future for many more years to come.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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James Cunningham, Geo Green Power’s managing director, said it was delighted to have been part of the project which will cost about \u00a3850,000.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Drax The front of the Glenlee Power Station with its modernist design and a sign with its name beneath the words \"The Galloway Water Power Scheme\". Next to it is a large electricity pylon.Drax<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The power stations across southern Scotland have operated for close to a century<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c2d2g0yx0lzo”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/4ce8\/live\/a2911080-42f6-11f1-ac78-2112837ce2aa.png”] Drax The Galloway and Lanark hydro networks have been in place for the best part of a century The first in a series of solar panel projects has been completed on a historic hydro power station network in southern Scotland. Renewable energy firm Drax plans to put about 1,500 panels in place […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[35,226],"class_list":["post-1906892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-bbc-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1906892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1906892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1906892\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1906892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1906892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1906892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}