Equinor, SSE plan 30% hydrogen mix at Saltend power station
Equinor has teamed up with SSE Thermal to acquire the 1.2-GW Saltend combined-cycle gas turbine power plant in Yorkshire, and plan to prepare the facility to run on up to 30% hydrogen from 2027, they said on June 28.
The two companies are purchasing the station's owner Triton Power from energy-transition infrastructure investor Energy Capital Partners for £341mn ($418mn). The deal is expected to be closed in September, pending regulatory approvals.
Eventually they aim to have the plant running on 100% hydrogen. This hydrogen could come from Equinor's H2H Saltend project, which will involve the construction of a 600-MW blue hydrogen plant east of Hull in northeast England, supplied with North Sea natural gas and equipped with carbon capture facilities. In January, Equinor put the project forward for the next round of funding under the UK government's sequencing process for decarbonising industry.
"Contributing to flexible power supplies with low CO2 emissions to support weather-dependent renewable energy is essential to ensure energy security through the energy transition," Irene Rummelhoff, Equinor's vice president for marketing, midstream and processing, commented.
"Together with Equinor, we will explore all avenues to decarbonise Saltend and create new opportunities for other businesses so that they can operate in a future with net zero emissions," SSE CEO Catherine Raw added.
Equinor and SSE are already developing hydrogen power plants, hydrogen storage and CCGTs with carbon-capture facilities in Keadby and Peterhead in Scotland.