A Scottish distillery has been awarded planning permission, from Angus Council, for a 1MW wind turbine and an electrolyser to make green hydrogen to fuel its operations.
Arbikie Distillery, near Montrose, has secured planning permission for the turbine, underground cables, a hydrogen electrolysis plant, storage, cooling equipment and other ancillary works including a flue.
The turbine, on Arbikie’s farmland, will export its generation to the electrolyser via a dedicated private wire.
Green hydrogen will be created by the electrolyser and a direct pipe will take the stored hydrogen from the storage vessel to the existing plant room.
A hydrogen-compatible burner and boiler will then be used to create steam which will deliver the heat for distillation, helping to displace oil which the distillery uses.
Project partners Logan Energy and Locogen have welcomed the news of planning permission for the project which is supported by a £3m funding award from the UK Government Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Green Distilleries competition.
Logan Energy and Locogen are preparing equipment and speaking to suppliers with the view to starting work on site at Arbikie later this summer.
Installation of the wind turbine is scheduled for November. The aim is for the new hydrogen system to be in operation next year.
The Green Distilleries fund aims to help distilleries cut CO2 emissions by one million tonnes, contributing to Scottish and UK net zero targets.
Bill Ireland, CEO of Logan Energy, said: “As demand to switch to net zero technologies continues to grow, this project is a further example of the important role hydrogen can play.
“We’re incredibly proud to be supporting businesses with their net zero ambitions, and especially so in this project as we are helping a Scottish distillery demonstrate real green credentials.”
John Stirling, Director at Arbikie Distillery, said: “We are delighted to see this project moving forward with Locogen and Logan Energy. We aim to be one of the world’s most sustainable distilleries so being able to use green hydrogen power will be another significant step in our sustainability journey.”