Statera Energy said it has obtained planning approval from Aberdeenshire Council for the UK’s largest green hydrogen project.
Having already won UK Government backing via the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund, Kintore Hydrogen could deliver £400 million to the Aberdeenshire economy, supporting economic growth and the just transition in the region and in the UK’s major industrial clusters including Grangemouth.
Kintore Hydrogen will also provide significant support to the green skills transition. The project is expected to create approximately 3,000 jobs during its construction and 300 permanent jobs once operational.
“Kintore Hydrogen will produce zero carbon green hydrogen from renewable energy, including from surplus power from Scottish wind farms that would otherwise be turned off to balance the grid,” said Statera Energy.
“The low-cost low-carbon hydrogen can be used by carbon-intensive industries to replace gas, and improve the UK’s energy security.
“Kintore Hydrogen is a groundbreaking project for the UK’s energy system and will be one of the largest projects of its kind in Europe.
“The first 500 MW of operational capacity is expected to be online by 2030, and when operating at its full 3GW capacity Kintore Hydrogen will cut up to 1.4 million tonnes of CO2 per year by displacing the use of natural gas.
“This nationally significant project will enable the development of more renewable energy sources, like offshore wind, and will save billpayers £billions in curtailment costs – where wind farms are paid to switch off when it’s windiest. The volumes of green hydrogen produced by Kintore Hydrogen will play an essential role in decarbonising the UK’s carbon-intensive sectors, such as heavy industry and flexible power generation.
“The Kintore project represents the ideal way to achieve the UK’s hydrogen ambitions: reducing curtailment costs for wind which are pushing up consumer bills, producing at the scale needed to meet our decarbonisation goals, and offering a significant reduction in the price of green hydrogen. Kintore is projected to deliver £1bn of economic benefits to the UK economy over the project lifecycle.”
Statera Energy CEO Tom Vernon said: “We are delighted to have secured planning approval for Kintore. This marks a major step forward in delivering the UK’s clean hydrogen ambition while supporting our energy independence, and accelerating the development of homegrown clean energy alternatives for large industrial users …
“Over the coming years, the sheer volume of wind generation coming onto the system in the UK will make electrolysers critical for harnessing wind energy that would otherwise go to waste.
“Kintore Hydrogen is designed to fully capitalise on the potential that hydrogen has to offer. The location and scale of this project means it can make best use of surplus wind power, significantly lowering hydrogen production costs. It will help balance the grid, contribute to the UK’s energy security, and support the decarbonisation of the UK’s hard-to-abate industries and power sector.”