13th October 2021. A gas-storage project located off the coast of Northern Ireland has been awarded a Marine Construction licence, giving
The UK has one of Europe’s lowest gas-storage capacities, at just 1% of its annual demand in storage. This level of capacity leaves the UK much less resilient to supply variations than other European countries, which hold as much as 20-30% of annual demand in storage. Once fully developed, the Islandmagee gas storage project will hold over 25% of the UK’s storage capacity.
John Wood, Group CEO of Islandmagee Energy’s parent company, Harland & Wolff, states, “This is good news for consumers and businesses in the UK who are currently experiencing distressing hikes in energy prices and fears of potential blackouts as gas and power grids face peak demand stresses during the winter months.”
“With the current energy supply crisis,” he continues, “everyone now understands just how important gas storage is to secure supply and protect against extreme volatility in gas and power prices in the UK.”
Islandmagee Energy also has longer term ambitions to store hydrogen. Wood explains, “Large-scale hydrogen storage will enable the UK to make the most of excess renewable energy as it transitions to net zero. The existing power grid cannot always accept all of the electricity generated from wind farms during periods of surplus wind power generation. It is during these periods that wind farms are temporarily scaled back, as there is no way to store the excess electricity produced.”
He continues, “Production of large-scale hydrogen and its storage is the long-term solution to this problem. Excess wind-generated power can be used to produce green hydrogen which can then be stored in salt caverns for future use during peak demand periods.”
The company claims that the project, in addition to enhancing the security of the UK’s energy supplies and supporting the transition to net zero, should create some 400 direct jobs during construction. In addition, between 800 and 1,200 indirect jobs could bring around £7 million into the local economy annually.
© Philip Hunt 2021.
Oxford Analytica report into gas storage:
https://wp-infrastrata-2020.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media/2020/11/12164644/InfraStrata_Domestic-gas-storage_21-October-2020.pdf
About Islandmagee Energy
Islandmagee Energy is developing a large-scale salt cavern gas storage facility located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The Islandmagee peninsula is the site of Northern Ireland’s main gas-powered power station at Ballylumford, which provides half of the province’s power. It is also the terminating point of the existing Scotland-Northern Ireland gas pipeline, making it an ideal location for a project of this type.
Once complete, the Islandmagee storage facility will consist of seven underground caverns, capable of storing up to a total of 500 million cubic metres of gas in Permian salt beds, a well-proven technique that represents the most environmentally friendly, safe and efficient method of storing large volumes of natural gas.
The Islandmagee facility is expected to provide over 25% of the UK’s natural gas storage capacity and will support the growing demand for gas-fired power development and renewable energy generation throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
Islandmagee Energy is a wholly owned subsidiary of Harland & Wolff Group Holdings plc (AIM: HARL), formerly known as InfraStrata plc.
About Harland & Wolff Group Holdings plc (formerly InfraStrata plc)
Harland & Wolff Group Holdings plc is a multisite fabrication company, operating in the maritime and offshore industry through five markets: commercial, cruise and ferry, defence, oil & gas and renewables and six services: technical services, fabrication and construction, decommissioning, repair and maintenance, in-service support and conversion.
Its Belfast yard is one of Europe’s largest heavy engineering facilities, with deep water access, two of Europe’s largest drydocks, ample quayside and vast fabrication halls. As a result of the acquisition of Harland & Wolff (Appledore) in August 2020, the company has been able to capitalise on opportunities at both ends of the ship-repair and shipbuilding markets where there is significant demand.
In February 2021, the company acquired the assets of two Scottish based yards along the east and west coasts. Now known as Harland & Wolff (Methil) and Harland & Wolff (Arnish), these facilities will focus on fabrication work within the renewable, oil and gas and defence sectors.