SSE scraps plan to produce green hydrogen from excess power at existing Scottish wind farm – Recharge

Utility SSE Renewables has scrapped a proposed electrolyser project at the subsidy-free Gordonbush onshore wind farm in Scotland, after failing to secure government payments for green hydrogen production.

SSE had been one of the losers in the UK government’s first “hydrogen allocation round” (HAR1) for subsidies per kilogram of H₂ produced, with both its Gordonbush and the Aldbrough Hydrogen Pathfinder projects excluded from the list of winners after negotiations.

The utility had planned to install wind turbine manufacturer Siemens Gamesa’s Renewable Hydrogen Upgrade solution at Gordonbush in order to produce green hydrogen during hours when the wind farm’s output would otherwise be curtailed.

“During periods of high wind, the National Grid compensates wind farms for being turned off, and as Gordonbush Extension is one of the cheapest wind farms to turn off, it will likely experience higher than average levels of constraint,” SSE said in a scoping report for the project.  https://www.rechargenews.com/energy-transition/sse-scraps-plan-to-produce-green-hydrogen-from-excess-power-at-existing-scottish-wind-farm/2-1-1614769