The Diplomat
Iberdrola, through its UK subsidiary ScottishPower, has submitted an application to build a green hydrogen plant next to its 539 megawatt (MW) Whitelee wind farm, the largest in the UK, the company said.
Specifically, the facility will include a hybrid solar energy system that will power a 20 MW electrolyser, as well as a battery storage system with a maximum capacity of 50 MW.
The energy company said the initiative will be able to produce up to eight tonnes of green hydrogen per day, roughly equivalent to the daily fuel needs of more than 550 buses, making the round trip route between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
This new project is a new step in the commitment of the group chaired by Ignacio Sánchez Galán to play a leading role in the development of green hydrogen in Europe, as a tool for the decarbonisation of industry and transport or heavy mobility in countries such as Spain and the United Kingdom, in addition to developing the value chain.
In this respect, the company has presented 53 projects to the Next Generation EU programme, which would activate investments of 2,500 million to achieve an annual production of 60,000 tonnes per year.
This project in the UK is the first green hydrogen plant to be built by Green Hydrogen for Scotland, the alliance formed by Iberdrola’s subsidiary ScottishPower Renewables, together with BOC and ITM Power, with the aim of creating a green hydrogen production network and offering comprehensive market solutions to reduce emissions from sectors that are difficult to decarbonise, such as heavy transport, urban transport (buses) and waste collection trucks.
The initiative will help clean up emissions from heavy public transport and improve air quality in the Glasgow metropolitan area, a city that will host the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) this year and aims to become the UK’s first zero-emission municipality by 2030 by, among other initiatives, creating a fleet of zero-emission vehicles, using only electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles.
Iberdrola’s subsidiary will lead the project; BOC will be responsible for its design and operation, based on wind and solar energy produced by ScottishPower Renewables; and the electrolyser will be supplied by ITM Power.
Green Hydrogen for Scotland expects the project to be authorised by the end of autumn this year and the plant is expected to be operational by 2023.
