Foyers pumped-storage project

The Foyers pumped-storage scheme is the second in the United Kingdom to use reversible pump turbines and the first shaft-type station. The paper shows how the requirements of the power system and the characteristics of the site influenced the design parameters and describes the various engineering and costing studies which were undertaken in arriving at the final design. The station is constructed in a geologically faulted zone, and this influenced the design and choice of construction methods for the civil-engineering aspects. Novel mechanical and electrical features, aimed at improving performance, reliability and access for maintenance, were incorporated in the generating plant as a result of experience on earlier pumped-storage plant. The paper also describes briefly the principal features in the construction of the scheme and early operational experience.