Planners back green hydrogen plant scheme

Bruce Sinclair, local democracy reporter

Plans for a green hydrogen fuel production facility by on land next to a gas-fired power station have been approved.

Pembrokeshire planners, backed the proposals despite concern being raised about the amount of water it will take from the county’s Llys y Fran reservoir.

An application by Pembroke RWE Generation UK plc for the construction of a green hydrogen production facility, with associated works including a water supply pipeline to the adjacent Pembroke Power Station and electrical supply connection to a nearby National Grid Substation,  were recommended for conditional approval by county council’s planning committee.

Electrolyser

Green hydrogen is produced from water, in an electrolysing process using electricity obtained from renewable sources; the electrolyser site will be bult on land previously occupied by the power station’s sports and social club.

A report for planners stated: “The electrolyser is planned to be powered with ‘low carbon electricity supplied primarily via grid connected renewables’ and will create ‘green hydrogen’ for use in industrial processes. Water for the electrolyser will come from existing power station supplies.

“The pipeline corridor would supply hydrogen gas to the Valero Refinery. The pipeline corridor would follow the route of an existing natural gas pipeline. Most of the pipeline corridor would be underground, passing across farmland and a wooded area. It will emerge above ground within the Valero Refinery. The working width of the construction area for the pipeline is expected to be approximately 30m.”

Some of the final details are subject to potential change, members heard, but the maximum height of the flare stack would be 25m and the electrolyser building and compressor building would be up to 17m in height.

Ambitions

The report also quoted the applicant: “By bringing together technologies such as hydrogen production, carbon capture and storage, battery storage and floating offshore wind to the Pembroke area, RWE can help to decarbonise the energy sector in Wales for generations to come.

“RWE’s ambitions will build on Pembrokeshire’s local energy heritage, safeguarding existing jobs at the development site, while delivering a significant local economic investment and creating new jobs throughout construction and operation.”

Speaking at the November planning meeting, project development manager Zoe Harrison told members would make “a significant contribution to net zero,” the green fuel leading to approximately 90,000 tons less of Carbon Dioxide being produced a year, the equivalent of 18,000 cars being taken off the road.

Cllr Steve Alderman, who said he was in support of the proposal, raised the issue of the amount of water the facility would take from the Llys y Fran reservoir to produce two tons of hydrogen fuel per hour, members hearing nine kilos of water was needed for every kilo of hydrogen fuel produced by the electrolysing process.

Zoe Harrison said the water was available through an existing agreement with Welsh Water, and a suggestion by Cllr Alderman to look at desalinating seawater was not part of the current scheme but could potentially be looked at in the future.

Moving approval, Pembroke Dock councillor Brian Hall said: “I’m sure everybody does realise this is a very important project for Pembrokeshire full stop,” adding: “I can’t emphasise enough how the people in my area can’t wait for this development.”

Fellow Pembroke dock councillor Tony Wilcox also supported the proposal, saying of concerns about potential visual impacts: “To a certain extent, that horse has bolted, because it’s in the middle of a power station.”

Members unanimously supported delegated approval for the application.

The facility is expected to take 24 months to build, an earlier consultation on the scheme said, and could be built by early 2027.