SSE Renewables and Siemens Gamesa have unveiled plans to produce and deliver green hydrogen through electrolysis, using renewable energy from the former’s over 100MW Gordonbush wind farm in Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands.
Under the new plans, green hydrogen would be produced by SSE Renewables at Gordonbush wind farm using Siemens Gamesa’s Renewable Hydrogen Upgrade solution.
The green hydrogen could then be used as a clean alternative to petrol, diesel or natural gas to help decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors such as industry, transport and manufacturing.
The move follows last year’s agreement between both companies to explore opportunities to produce green hydrogen on co-located onshore wind farm sites.
The plans unveiled today would see the integration of Siemens Gamesa’s Renewable Hydrogen Upgrade at its Gordonbush site near Brora, comprising electrolyser and ancillary technology.
The facility would be capable of producing up to 2000 tonnes of green hydrogen each year using energy generated at Gordonbush.
The overall development would also include a battery energy storage system that would be capable of storing any surplus, or constrained, renewable energy produced by the wind farm at times of excess wind on the electrical grid.
This would allow such excess green energy to be stored in lithium-ion batteries for possible later use, including the potential to power the electrolyser for green hydrogen production or to dispatch to the national grid at times when the wind is not blowing.
The project will also see SSE Renewables working to explore opportunities to unlock the full potential of the green hydrogen value chain in the Scottish Highlands and support Scotland’s emerging green hydrogen economy.
This will include working with potential green hydrogen customers from high carbon sectors looking to decarbonise their energy and fuel supplies.
SSE Renewables director of strategy and route to market Annant Shah said: “Green hydrogen produced from renewable sources such as wind energy has the potential to play a revolutionary role in decarbonising power production, heavy industry and transport, as part of our journey towards net zero emissions.
“Combining electrolyser and battery technology with wind farms could be a game changer in solving the renewables variability challenge and shows the potential for wind power to help enhance energy security by reducing our reliance on imported gas.
“As an integrated group, SSE has a view across the whole energy value chain and is uniquely positioned to deliver.
“With this development at Gordonbush, we’ll be able to divert some of our abundant wind resource in the Highlands to begin production of a locally-sourced low carbon fuel for transport and heavy industry, develop a green hydrogen supply chain to support local job creation, and play our part in supporting Scotland’s emerging green hydrogen revolution.”
Siemens Gamesa service Northern Europe & Middle East region chief executive Paulina Hobbs said:
“We’re excited to work together with SSE on our journey to unlock the green hydrogen revolution and deliver the fuel for the future.
“We believe that green hydrogen is an outstanding technology for transferring the benefits of renewables beyond the electricity sector.
“Green hydrogen will be key in the decarbonization of hard-to-electrify, and thus hard-to-abate, sectors.
“Green electricity can be transformed into a transportation fuel, or used as feedstock in industrial processes, where currently no climate-neutral alternatives exist. It will play a crucial part in reaching our net-zero goal for 2045.”
SSE Renewables has recently submitted a screening request to The Highland Council to consider its plans for the proposed development.
A local public consultation will also be held in April to gather community and stakeholder feedback on the proposal which will help inform final detailed project designs.
A final planning application for the proposed electrolyser development is expected to be submitted to The Highland Council in Summer 2022, while a separate application is expected to be made to the Scottish Government Energy Consents Unit later this year for the associated battery energy storage system.