Green hydrogen project granted planning permission by Aberdeenshire Council

A green hydrogen project said to be the largest in the UK has obtained planning approval from Aberdeenshire Council.

Statera Energy says the Kintore hydrogen facility could deliver £400m to the Aberdeenshire economy and support the transition of industrial clusters like Grangemouth, as well as providing thousands of jobs.

The facility will produce hydrogen through electrolysis, using surplus wind power which would otherwise be turned off to balance the grid.

It is initially planned to have a storage capacity of 500MW before scaling up to 3GW.

Statera says hydrogen produced at Kintore could be supplied to the UK’s most carbon-intensive industrial clusters through existing gas transmission pipelines.

The UK-based company says the project will result in around 3,000 jobs during construction and 300 permanent jobs once it is operational.

Planning permission in principle was granted by a full meeting of Aberdeenshire Council on Thursday.

A report which went before councillors noted the “significant” impact it would have on the local landscape but said the benefits in offsetting carbon emissions outweighed these.

Tom Vernon, chief executive of Statera Energy, said: “We are delighted to have secured planning approval for Kintore.

“Over the coming years, the sheer volume of wind generation coming on to 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.”