Power Generation and Transmission

Scotland's power generation industry remains a strong sector, continually growing. Employing more than 7,000 people from a variety of nationalities, Scotland's major power generation and transmission companies have a combined turnover of £1.3 billion and offer outstanding career opportunities.

The Scottish power generation industry includes:

  • Manufacturing
  • Distribution
  • Transmission
  • Consultancy

Scotland's strengths in power generation and transmission

Scotland has expanded the generation of its electricity from the vast stocks of coal the country possesses to include nuclear power, clean coal technologies, renewable energy and combustion technologies. Scotland's strengths in this area include:

  • Engineering excellence
  • Expertise in materials, fuels, electrical systems and mechanical plants
  • Academic quality in nuclear decommissioning

Working in power generation and transmission in Scotland

There are many power generation companies in Scotland. These include:

  • Scottish Power
  • Doosan Babcock
  • Weir
  • Howden
  • Jacobs Babtie
  • Clyde Bergemann

View more energy employers in Scotland

View jobs in energy in Scotland

Nuclear power generation

There are three nuclear power sites in Scotland:

  • Chapelcross
  • Dounreay
  • Torness

Chapelcross and Dounreay are currently being decommissioned, presenting many job opportunities at these sites.

Education and research in power generation and transmission

The industry in Scotland has two main programmes in addition to many more engineering and other related courses on offer throughout the country.

The Electric Utilities Programme is managed via the Centre for Electrical Power Engineering (CEPE) at Strathclyde university and supports the continuing development of power professionals, the provision of graduates suitable for the power industry, and the conduct of strategic and applied research for the electrical power industry.

The University of Highlands and Islands Decommissioning and Environmental Remediation Centre (DERC) is a leading nuclear decommissioning research centre in Caithness.

View more academic departments and research institutes

Success Stories

Read interviews with people who've moved to Scotland to live and work

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Employer Spotlights