View source for Galloway hydro-electric power scheme

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2019}}
[[File:Tongland power station.png|thumb|300px|Power station at [[Tongland]]]]
[[File:Clatteringshaws Dam.jpg|thumb|300px|Clatteringshaws Dam, looking towards [[Cairnsmore of Fleet]]]]
{{Galloway hydro-electric scheme map}}
The '''Galloway hydro-electric power scheme''' is a network of dams and [[Hydroelectricity|hydro-electric]] [[power station]]s in [[Galloway]], south west [[Scotland]]. It was built between 1930 and 1936.

The generating stations draw water from the [[Water of Ken|River Ken]], [[River Dee, Galloway|River Dee]] and [[River Doon]] through reservoirs at [[Loch Doon]], Kendoon, Carsfad, [[Clatteringshaws Loch|Clatteringshaws]], and [[Tongland]]. The unusual [[Modern architecture|modernist]] stations were designed by Scottish civil engineer, [[Alexander Gibb|Sir Alexander Gibb]].

The scheme, which is today operated by [[Drax Group|Drax]], can produce a total peak power of around 110 [[megawatts]], with an overall [[Load factor (electrical)|load factor]] of around 0.25.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.spenergywholesale.com/userfiles/file/Gallowaytechnical.pdf
|title=Galloway Hydro Technical Factsheet
|publisher=SP Energy
|access-date=19 February 2024
|archive-date=12 January 2011
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112114317/http://www.spenergywholesale.com/userfiles/file/Gallowaytechnical.pdf
|url-status=bot: unknown
}}</ref>

==History==
The scheme was authorized by the Galloway Water Power Act on 10 May 1929, by which the Galloway Water Power Company was incorporated.  Chairman of the board was former colonial administrator [[James Meston, 1st Baron Meston|Lord Meston]].  Also on the board was [[Robert Henry Brand, 1st Baron Brand|Robert Brand]], managing director of the project's underwriter, [[Lazard|Lazard Brothers and Company]].

Design was carried out by civil engineers [[Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners]]<ref name=":0">{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB9736|desc=Galloway Hydroelectric Power Scheme, Glenlee Power Station and Bridge|cat=B|access-date=26 March 2019}}</ref> along with electrical engineer, [[William McLellan (Scottish electrical engineer)|William McLellan]] of [[Merz & McLellan]]. Construction began three years later in 1932 and was completed in 1936. The scheme was made viable by the recent formation of the [[National Grid (UK)|National Grid]] which made generation of electricity in remote areas useful. Hydro power was particularly helpful to this grid because of its ability to be turned on and off very quickly to meet peak demands (in contrast to oil and coal stations), and to meet the natural increase during the more energy demanding winter months.

The total cost of the scheme was around three million pounds.  At a cost of £29 per kilowatt of installed capacity, they were some of the least costly stations ever built in the UK.<ref name=brown>{{Citation
|title=Sixty Years of Hydro-Electric Development in Great Britain -Presidential Address to the Institute of Structural Engineers
|author=J.Guthrie Brown
|date=4 October 1956}}</ref>

The scheme was extended in 1984 with the addition of the Drumjohn power station which made use of the existing needle valve where the water from Loch Doon and the Deuch feed into the Dee. This station has a capacity of just 2.3 megawatts, but was constructed largely using existing infrastructure.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}

In 2018 [[Drax Group]] purchased the scheme, alongside a number of other assets, from then owners [[Scottish Power]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.drax.com/press_release/completion-deal-means-drax-will-play-bigger-role-heart-great-britains-energy-system/|title=Completion of deal means Drax will play bigger role at heart of Great Britain's energy system|website=Drax|language=en|access-date=2019-01-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.drax.com/about-us/our-businesses/#power-generation-and-system-services|title=Power generation and system services|publisher=Drax Group|access-date=3 October 2019}}</ref>

==Architecture==
[[File:Tonglandturbinehall.jpg|thumb|left|Tongland turbine hall]]
The stations are generally white, Modernist structures, highly glazed and with large airy turbine halls. The designs were stylistically advanced for their time and can be viewed as some of Scotland's earliest modern buildings. The credit for the design is given to Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners, however it seems likely that the design received input from [[Harold Tarbolton]], the architectural advisor to the scheme's "Amenities Committee". This committee was set up to "make to the Company such recommendations as they may think are reasonable and proper for the preservation of the beauty of the scenery" (from the 1929 Galloway water power act). Tarbolton was designer of the Pitlochry power station which bears some striking similarities to the Galloway turbine halls. Whilst no direct credit for the design work can be given to him, it is unlikely that he had no influence on the outcome.{{Citation needed|date=May 2015}}

In their book ''Power from water'' (1960), two partners of Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners, [[Angus Paton]], and J Guthrie Brown (the latter of whom is known to have worked on the Galloway scheme), write that "The architecture of the power stations, under the watchful eye of the amenity committee...was given the most careful attention."

Parts of the scheme are now listed buildings, specifically the Glenlee Power Station and Bridge<ref name=":0" /> and the Tongland Power Station, Surge Tower and Valve House.<ref>{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB17126|desc=Galloway Electric Power Scheme, Tongland Power Station, Surge Tower and Valve House|cat=A|access-date=26 March 2019|fewer-links=yes}}</ref>

In great contrast to the bright pristine nature of the stations, the dams are organic and entwined with the natural rock.{{CN|date=September 2023}} They are generally [[arch dam]]s, curved in plan, bearing onto the side walls of the valleys except in those dams where only one side of the valley is suitable for bearing. In these latter cases, the end of the dam straightens out, and the last section of [[gravity dam]] (where the weight of the dam itself resists the force of the water) then acts like a [[buttress]] to the more efficient arch dam.

==Perceptions of the scheme==
Local poet W.G.M. Dobie wrote:<ref>{{cite book
|title=Winter and Rough Weather.
|author=W. G. M. Dobie
|date=1938
|publisher=Heinemann
|isbn=978-1-5287-6322-6
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Ek5EAAAQBAJ&dq=%22+The+Company+promoters+pen%22&pg=PT18}}</ref>

<blockquote>
A raider comes today who kills<br>
The glories of our glens and hills<br>
With unheroic Acts and Bills<br>
And "private legislation":<br>
The company promoters' pen<br>
Will dam the Deugh and dam the Ken<br>
And dam the Dee, - oh, damn the men<br>
Who plan such desecration!<br>
</blockquote>

==Generating stations==
The six generating stations, from north to south, are:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
|-
! Name !! Year completed !! Output !! Location !! Head<ref name=brown/>
|-
| Drumjohn || 1985 || 2 MW || {{coord|55|14|54|N|4|19|35|W|region:GB}} ||
|-
| Kendoon || 1936 || 24 MW || {{coord|55|09|48|N|4|11|28|W|region:GB}} || 150 feet
|-
| Carsfad|| 1936 || 12 MW || {{coord|55|08|38|N|4|11|25|W|region:GB}} || 65 feet
|-
| Earlstoun || 1936 || 14 MW || {{coord|55|06|38|N|4|10|31|W|region:GB}} || 67 feet
|-
| Glenlee|| 1935 || 24 MW || {{coord|55|05|57|N|4|11|11|W|region:GB}} || 380 feet
|-
| Tongland || 1935 || 33 MW  || {{coord|54|51|36|N|4|02|02|W|region:GB}} || 106 feet
|}

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|}}

===Sources===
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite book 
  |last=Hill |first=George
  |title=Tunnel and Dam: The Story of the Galloway Hydros
  |publisher=South of Scotland Electricity Board
  |year=1984
 }}
*{{cite book
  |first=Peter L |last=Payne
  |title=The Hydro
  |publisher=Aberdeen University Press
  |year=1988
  |isbn=978-0-08-036584-8
 }}
{{Refend}}

{{commons category|Galloway hydro-electric scheme}}

==External links==
{{stack|{{Portal|Scotland|United Kingdom|Transport|Renewable energy}}}}
*[https://www.drax.com/visit-us/visit-tongland-power-station/ Visit Tongland Power Station] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001142046/https://www.drax.com/visit-us/visit-tongland-power-station/ |date=1 October 2020 }} - Drax Power
*[http://www.wondersofworldengineering.com/galloway.html Power From Scotland's Lochs] An account of the Galloway Scheme from 1937

<!-- *[http://www.glenken.fsnet.co.uk/other/waterpower.html The Galloway Water Power Co.] from [http://www.glenken.fsnet.co.uk www.glenken.fsnet.co.uk] (note that article is slightly inaccurate, Loch Ken does not directly feed Tongland dam but is used to regulate the flow to ensure the tongland reservoir is kept at optimum level) -->

{{Scottish energy}}

[[Category:Hydroelectric power stations in Scotland]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Dumfries and Galloway]]
[[Category:Economy of Dumfries and Galloway]]
[[Category:Galloway]]
[[Category:1930s establishments in Scotland]]
[[Category:Category A listed buildings in Dumfries and Galloway]]