A former Royal Navy arms depot is set to house Statkraft’s first green hydrogen project in the UK, with the clean fuel used to power a local transport hub.
The Norwegian state-backed developer announced Tuesday that the Trecwn Green Energy Hub could soon produce clean fuel for buses, HGVs, trains, and heavy industry.
The Pembrokeshire plant, which is planned to be constructed on the site of a disused rail transfer shed at a former Royal Navy depot, would generate approximately three tonnes of green hydrogen a day, using electricity from three wind turbines and ground-mounted solar panels.
In the first instance, green hydrogen generated at Trecwn will be used to power trains running on railway lines west of Swansea. Statkraft said this would help deliver rail decarbonisation “at significantly lower capital costs and with fewer requirements for new infrastructure” than full line electrification.
In future, it could also produce fuel for Pembrokeshire Council’s HGV lorries and buses, with the site able to produce enough green hydrogen to run around 170 buses every day, when operational.
As the proposed facility will generate more than 10MW of renewable electricity it is also defined as a Development of National Significance.
The planning application will therefore be submitted to Planning and Environmental Decisions Wales (PEDW) with the final decision made by Welsh ministers.
Early site investigations have started and Statkraft intends to submit a scoping request soon to ensure the appropriate environmental studies are carried out as the proposals are developed.
The push towards decarbonising transport comes amid the Welsh Government’s Net Zero Strategy, which aims to see the renewables produce equivalent of 70% of electricity consumption in Wales by 2030.
Statkraft said the scheme is the first of several planned projects in the UK.
Meanwhile it will host local consultation and drop-in sessions to answer community questions on the project throughout October.
Matt Kelly from Statkraft UK said: “Trecwn Green Energy Hub presents an exciting opportunity to produce homegrown green energy for local use and has the potential to act as a catalyst for the redevelopment of Trecwn Valley.
“We’re determined that our renewable energy projects benefit local people more widely and have distributed over £2 million to communities near our projects, as well as working to make environmental improvements to the sites we operate. We look forward to sharing more details of our plans as they progress.”
Councillor Paul Miller, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Place, the Region and Climate Change added: “Today’s announcement in respect of the Trecwn Green Energy Hub is evidence of the building momentum behind the green energy market in Pembrokeshire.
“Growing and nurturing renewable technology and industry right across the county, including in our more rural communities, is vital to ensure we position Pembrokeshire and the South West region at the heart of Wales’s renewable energy push.”
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