A swift hardening of hydrogen policy might pave the way for the massive Rough storage project to provide short-term energy security by storing vital winter gas supplies.
Government laying out a legal framework for storage of the crucial solution to achieving Net Zero might further strengthen the case for the East Yorkshire facility to play a significant role as the Russian invasion of Ukraine proceeds.
Should the Putin administration cut off gas supplies to Europe, the market supply from Norway, a country with direct pipeline links to the United Kingdom, might come under pressure.
According to reports, a £1.6 billion plan to revamp the plant – operated from Easington – may sustain more than 4,000 employment in the wider economy, including 450 jobs in Easington.
Last summer, Rough proposed using the huge caverns beneath the North Sea to store hydrogen in order to balance supply and demand. It was placed at the center of the company’s COP26 reaction in November.
Now that ministers are reportedly testing strategies for the worst-case situation in an effort to keep the lights on throughout the prolonged battle, one solution has been identified.
Centrica has been discussing Rough with the government for some time “in terms of long-term hydrogen, but with some shorter-term solutions involving methane given the present global scenario,” according to a spokesperson.
The conversations have been described as “productive,” and it may cost up to £2 billion to make the whole transfer and restore operation.
Rough has been in operation since the 1970s, and as discovered gas was depleted, chambers were converted to storage in 1985. It was acquired by Centrica in 2002, and its storage was discontinued in 2017 – beyond its initial design life – as the market was unable to sustain the investment and concept. Next year is predicted to mark the end of production.
A spokesperson stated, “A market-only solution to secure the necessary investment in Rough is not feasible due to a lack of market stability, and while the hydrogen economy is evolving rapidly, it is difficult to predict precisely when hydrogen storage will be used on a large enough scale to generate a reliable revenue stream.
“Investment could be acquired, but a regulatory backup, similar to other energy infrastructure projects such as nuclear and carbon capture, would be necessary.
If we could act swiftly on a regulatory backstop, the physical modifications needed to convert Rough into a gas storage facility in the near future would be relatively simple.
It is believed that the duration would be measured in months rather than years, allowing for the possibility of a winter power outage. The government has already ordered companies like Drax to keep coal-generation as an option should the war result in a disruption of energy supply.
Centrica has recently received the first gas from Tolmount in Easington, an addition of 5 percent to the UK’s supply.
