Tongland Power Station

The station was completed in 1935, the same year that Elvis Pressley was born, as part of the wider Galloway Hydro Scheme. The idea of generating hydro electric power in Galloway was first conceived by two local residents, Major Wellwood Maxwell and Captain Scott Elliot. In 1923 they consulted a civil engineer, Colonel William McLellan, of Merz & McLellan consulting Engineers, who confirmed the potential for a major hydro scheme in Galloway.

At that time, however, there was little local demand for electricity and no means of exporting it economically to other areas. In 1926, with the advent of the National Grid, it became feasible to form a company.

Proposals were approved by Parliament in 1929, construction began in 1931 and the scheme was fully operational in 1936, making it the first major integrated hydro-electric complex in Britain for public electricity supply.

Colonel McLellan did not live to see the project completed. When he died, in 1934, its construction was already well advanced.

The 'modernist' white turbine hall at Tongland is widely regarded as being ahead of its time in architectural terms. The three generators within the turbine hall, which are still the original machines, have a maximum output of 33MW. Tongland is the largest of the stations in the scheme, which has a combined maximum output of 109MW.

In 2002 the building was upgraded from Grade B to Grade A listed status