A planning application has been submitted by Scottish Power to build a clean energy and hydrogen production hub in Scotland. The project would be based at ScottishPower's 539MW Whitelee wind farm, which is near Glasgow.
Approval has been filed for a 20MW electrolyser which will be powered by up to 40MW of solar and 50MW of battery energy storage. The electrolyser will take excess renewable energy from the power network and convert it into hydrogen.
The development is in response to growing market demand for clean hydrogen, and is being made under the Green Hydrogen for Glasgow project. The aim of the unit will be to supply hydrogen to the commercial market before 2023.
BOC, an industrial gas company, will be engineering and operating the project using wind and solar power produced by the developer, and incorporate an electrolyser delivered by ITM Power.
Graham Cooley, ITM Power chief executive, 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."
Barry Carruthers, Scottish Power's Hydrogen Director, is excited about the project and said:
"With all eyes set to be on Glasgow later this year as the city hosts the UN's 26th climate change conference, COP26, it's fantastic to be making this next important step towards delivering green hydrogen for Glasgow."
"Whitelee keeps breaking barriers, first the UK's largest onshore wind farm, and soon to be home to the UK's largest electrolyser. The site has played a vital role in helping the UK to decarbonise and we look forward to delivering another vital form of zero carbon energy generation at the site to help Glasgow and Scotland achieve their net zero goals."
The planning application should have a decision by autumn 2021.
