A consortium has announced plans to develop a large-scale hydrogen production facility on the island of Flotta in Orkney that would be powered using renewable electricity from the 2GW offshore wind farm it also intends to build to the west of the archipelago in Scotland.
Offshore Wind Power, consisting of Macquarie’s Green Investment Group, French oil and gas company Total Energies and Scottish offshore wind developer Renewable Infrastructure Development Group (RIDG), recently entered a bid for seabed rights for the West of Orkney wind farm in Crown Estate Scotland’s ScotWind leasing round.
“The production of green hydrogen is a hugely exciting opportunity for both offshore wind and the Scottish supply chain,” said RIDG commercial director Mike Hay.
“Projects with substantial capacity factors, such as the West of Orkney wind farm, could deliver highly competitive power to facilities like the Flotta Hydrogen Hub which could, in turn, supply demand for hydrogen both nationally and internationally.
“We’ve therefore committed to working exclusively with our partners to investigate this opportunity thoroughly and have already completed cable routing assessments and nearshore geophysical surveys to better understand the practical aspects of project delivery.”
James Stockan, leader of Orkney Islands Council, said: “Flotta is an ideal location for green hydrogen production – it is surrounded by the best wind resource in Europe and it lies close to major shipping routes within the vast natural harbour of Scapa Flow.
“The time is right to maximise the incredible natural assets and geography of the Flow and Orkney to ensure a long-term sustainable, climate-friendly future for our communities.”
The Flotta Hydrogen Hub would be built at the Flotta oil terminal operated by Repsol Sinopec. The consortium will also work Uniper and the European Marine Energy Centre to develop the proposals.
Jose Luis Munoz, chief executive of Repsol Sinopec, commented: “The Flotta Terminal has been in operation since 1976 and has made a significant contribution to Orkney’s economy and communities for more than 40 years.
“This project would enable the terminal to be progressively transformed over time into a diversified energy hub where conventional oil and gas operations continue, co-existing alongside the development of a sustainable long-term green future for the facility.”
Neil Kermode, managing director of EMEC, said: “Orkney is well advanced in its ambition to be the global centre of excellence for research and demonstration of how the hydrogen economy of the future will work. We generated the world’s first tidal-powered green hydrogen in 2017 at EMEC’s tidal test site and have led various green hydrogen projects exploring generation, logistics and end use.
“For this project to go ahead, a number of vital elements will have to fall into place, including a market for green hydrogen. We are pleased to be collaborating with our offshore wind partners in pursuit of this goal and we are already in discussion with the Scottish and UK governments to explore the mechanisms required to make this vision happen.”
Meanwhile, the Energy Networks Association (ENA) has a published a new report highlighting the potential value of green hydrogen as a source of interseasonal energy storage.
The trade body said meeting winter peaks in demand using wind generation alone would require 500 to 600GW of installed capacity. It said this amount could be reduced to 140 to 190GW by installing 60 to 80GW of green hydrogen production, which could use surplus renewable electricity during the spring and summer months to store 115 to 140 TWh of energy each year.
The report said salt caverns and disused oil and gas fields could provide more than enough space to store this amount of hydrogen, with some individual oil and gas sites offering up to 330TWh of storage capacity.
ENA green gas champion Chris Train said: “This research shows how green hydrogen can provide a clean energy bumper that can protect us from fluctuations on the international energy markets, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year – whatever the weather, come rain or sunshine.
“It will also allow us to get the most out of the energy infrastructure that is at the forefront of our renewable revolution, whilst ensuring that we have a net zero energy system that is truly a system for all seasons.”