News / Moves to kickstart an isles hydrogen economy
SHETLAND Islands Council is being asked to back an attempt to kickstart a hydrogen economy in the isles, putting it at the forefront of the world’s green energy movement.
On Monday the SIC’s transport and environment committee will be asked to give its support to a bid for £30,000 government funding that is being coordinated by SHEAP, the business behind the Lerwick district heating system.
If successful the project could be shortlisted for the Scottish government’s £20 million Local Energy Challenge Fund, which would pay 100 per cent of its development costs.
SHEAP manager Neville Martin explained he was trying to put together a consortia involving the district heating scheme, Shetland Aerogenerators who run the Burradale wind farm, the Unst-based hydrogen business PURE and the SIC.
The concept is to erect a wind turbine north of Lerwick at Rova Head, which would produce electricity that could be used to expand the district heating system and produce hydrogen.
The hydrogen could be used to power vehicles, be bottled for domestic use or generate electricity.
The council could consider purchasing a fleet of hydrogen-powered lorries, in the same way Aberdeen City Council runs hydrogen buses under a £1.65 million government-funded project.
Martin said if the idea took off, you could look at hydrogen buses and even ferries in Shetland.
He added that with Shetland’s existing wind turbines being the most efficient in the world, the isles could produce wind-generated hydrogen at half the cost of elsewhere.
“We would use the money to help us utilise wind power for district heating and to produce hydrogen to fuel hydrogen vehicles and hopefully kickstart the hydrogen economy in Shetland,” he said.
“Hydrogen can be used in cars, it can be bottled like Calor Gas and it can also be regenerated as electricity, so it’s a storage medium, and if its regenerated as electricity there will be waste heat that can go into the district heating scheme so you don’t lose much energy.
“If it happened people all over the world would take notice. It’s one of the most important issues for local energy production.”
Martin stressed he was not looking for any money from the council, and pointed out that time was running short as the deadline for bids is next Friday.
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