ScottishPower plans for the UK largest green hydrogen plant

ScottishPower has announced today (12^th April) building the UK largest green hydrogen production plant to be operational by 2023, H2 Bulletin reports.

The power company has now submitted a planning application to build the facility about 5km west of Lochgoin Reservoir and adjacent to the existing Whitelee Extension substation. The decision on the planning application is expected in autumn 2021.

ScottishPower, a vertically integrated energy company based in Glasgow, Scotland, and is a subsidiary of Spanish utility firm Iberdrola, plans to build a 20 MW electrolyser with a capacity of about 8 tonnes/day green hydrogen. The plan includes a 40MW solar farm across 62,000 individual solar cells and a battery energy storage scheme, up to 50 MW, for the smooth operation of the electrolyser plant.

The project will be developed under the Green Hydrogen for Scotland partnership of ScottishPower, BOC, and ITM Power, aiming to develop green hydrogen production facilities, including refuelling stations across Scotland.

BOC will be responsible for the engineering and operation; ScottishPower Renewables will supply wind and solar power, and ITM Power will provide a 20 MW electrolyser.

Barry Carruthers, ScottishPower’s Hydrogen Director, said: “Whitelee keeps breaking barriers, first the UK’s largest onshore windfarm, and soon to be home to the UK’s largest electrolyser.”

Graham Cooley, CEO ITM Power, said, “This is an exciting milestone based on market development for green hydrogen for the city of Glasgow, that will see the UK’s largest electrolyser deployment to date being realised in Scotland.”

Mark Griffin, Hydrogen Market Development Manager for Clean Fuels at BOC, said, “The scale of this project demonstrates the growing demand for clean hydrogen and as a member of the Green Hydrogen for Scotland partnership, we’re delighted to bring our hydrogen mobility and refuelling project expertise to help deliver a ground-breaking facility in Glasgow.”