Shetland Islands Council and the Oil and Gas Technology Centre (OGTC) have formed a partnership to develop an Energy Hub concept which will deliver a clean, sustainable energy future for Shetland and the UK
The new Energy Hub concept is ambitious and signals a transformational shift for Shetland and the surrounding oil and gas province which will benefit the local community, the wider supply chain, secure employment and energy security of significance at a local, regional and national scale.
This Energy Hub concept will focus on renewable electricity powering offshore oil and gas platforms from shore and producing industrial quantities of hydrogen.
The Hub could make West of Shetland oil and gas assets net-zero by 2030 and provide 5% of the UK’s low carbon energy demand by 2050.
With discussions taking place with a range of potential stakeholders, the next stage is a period of project planning, early-stage concept engineering, research and studies. This feasibility stage will run for two to three years before any investment decisions are taken.
The potential to accelerate
Colette Cohen, chief executive of the OGTC: “Energy Hubs are an exciting concept, which has the potential to accelerate the transition of our industry to a net-zero future, while also supporting the UK’s net-zero ambitions.
“Our objective at OGTC is to reduce the cost of developing and deploying technology to enable and accelerate the energy transition.
“The energy hub concept is a priority, working in partnership with industry, the regulators and research organisations, it will accelerate the development of key technology to create an integrated energy future for Scotland and enable the region to transition to a Hydrogen economy.”
Douglas Irvine, project lead at Shetland Islands Council, added: “An essential part of our ambition is to ensure that the Shetland community’s energy requirements are integrated into the project, and community-scale schemes are encouraged as well as industrial-scale ventures.
“The interconnector between Shetland and the Scottish mainland is important for the project, but only a part of a much wider integrated renewable energy solution for Shetland and for the region.”
