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Aldbrough gas storage

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Coordinates: 53°48′47″N 0°05′13″W / 53.813°N 0.087°W / 53.813; -0.087
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Aldbrough gas storage
Aldbrough gas storage site
Map
General information
StatusCompleted
LocationAldbrough, East Riding of Yorkshire
CountryEngland
Coordinates53°48′47″N 0°05′13″W / 53.813°N 0.087°W / 53.813; -0.087
Elevation13 metres (43 ft) AOD (surface buildings)
Current tenantsSSE & Equinor
Construction startedMarch 2004
OpenedJuly 2009

Aldbrough gas storage is a natural gas storage facility near to the village of Aldbrough in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The site has been operating since 2009, storing natural gas in nine underground salt caverns, each one big enough to contain the entire St Paul's Cathedral building. Plans have been forwarded for approval to allow the site to split hydrogen from water, store the hydrogen on site, and then pipe the hydrogen to the Humber cluster of industrial concerns in a net-zero electricity generating plan.

History

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Development of the site for gas storage was first mooted in 1992 by British Gas (North Aldbrough) and Intergen (South Aldbrough), then later again in 1997 at a proposed cost of £70 million, but by 2003, the two sites were under development by SSE and Statoil.[1][2][3] The storage caverns, which are 100 metres (330 ft) tall by 100 metres (330 ft) wide, are located in the Permian salt deposits between 1,700 metres (5,600 ft) and 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) below the surface,[4] and the site lies some 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) south-east of Aldbrough village.[5] The storage sites were created to ensure a security of supply of gas into the UK market and as a buffer if gas import terminals were to go offline.[6] Caverns carved out of salt deposits are "ideally suited for the creation of storage cavities for gas and certain fluids.[7] The waste extracted salt was simply washed into the sea, but other salt caverns used to store gas in the UK (such as in Teesside, Cheshire and Lancashire) were as a result of solution mining the salt for chemical processes and using the voids left behind. The caverns at Aldbrough (and nearby Atwick) in the East Riding of Yorkshire, were specifically created to store gas.[8][9]

By 2007, the facility was Britain's largest onshore storage site for natural gas and by 2010, the three SSE caverns could store 100,000,000 cubic metres (3.5×109 cu ft) of gas, and the company opened a fourth cavern that same year.[10][11] This represented a gas source capable of generating 8,800 gwh of electricity annually.[12] The site reached completion in 2011, and has the capacity to store 276,000,000 cubic metres (9.7×109 cu ft) of gas.[13] In 2017 Centrica closed their gas storage facility under the North Sea (Rough), since then, the Aldbrough site represents the largest gas storage facility on the eastern coast of England, having between 17–19% of Britain's gas storage capacity (variable due to the capacity and storage volumes at other sites).[14][i] Each of the nine caverns can comfortably hold St Paul's Cathedral within them.[16]

In July 2021, both SSE and Equinor announced that were considering either repurposing the salt caverns for hydrogen storage, or creating nine newer caverns using pumped seawater to clear the salt layer out.[17][18] Development of the site to store hydrogen as (H2) was proposed as part of a low carbon economy for the United Kingdom. Hydrogen storage is nothing new to UK industries, H2 has been routinely stored in salt caverns underneath Teesside since the 1970s.[19] The site on Teesside was completed in 1972, and consists of three caverns, each with the ability to store 70,000 cubic metres (2,500,000 cu ft) (a total of 210,000 cubic metres (7,400,000 cu ft) at a depth of 350 metres (1,150 ft) below ground, with a ratio of 95% (H2), and 3-4% CO2.[20] Initial projections for storage at the Aldbrough site were in the region of enough (H2) to generate 320 gigawatt hours (GWH).[21]

The hydrogen will be generated onsite from water by using an elctrolyser (green hydrogen), and then stored for available use when renewables cannot meet peak demand.[22][23] For example, in December 2022, a cold snap in the United Kingdom forced the National Grid to pay inflated prices to operators of peak power gas generation plants when wind farms could not generate enough electricity due to a lack of wind.[24] The two onsite companies would use green energy to produce the hydrogen, store it on site, and then burn it to produce clean energy when the system demands it.[25] In April 2025, East Riding Council approved plans for the £350–£400 million project, which includes nine new caverns, surface buildings, a stack some 30 metres (98 ft) high to vent water vapour, and a pipeline to send the gas elsewhere such as Salt End or Keadby.[26]

Notes

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  1. ^ In 2023, the following locations were storing gas for supply into the UK gas network when peak demand outstripped normal supply: Stublach (23%), Aldbrough (19%), Hornsea (17%), Humbly Grove (17%), Holford (13%), Hatfield Moor (7%), Holehouse Farm (3%), and Hill Top Farm (1%).[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Coastal gas storage scheme revealed". Holderness and East Yorkshire Advertiser. 13 November 1997. p. 12. OCLC 751702665.
  2. ^ Mortishead, Carl (19 February 2003). "Gas quarrel means trouble in the pipeline". The Times. No. 67690. p. 28. ISSN 0140-0460.
  3. ^ "Aldbrough Underground Gas Storage Facility, Yorkshire". Offshore Technology. 22 February 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  4. ^ Highley, Bloodworth & Bate 2006, p. 5.
  5. ^ "Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage - Project information". national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  6. ^ "The Times; need to know: The essential daily guide to the sectors". The Times. No. 67628. 7 December 2002. p. 63. ISSN 0140-0460.
  7. ^ Highley, Bloodworth & Bate 2006, p. 1.
  8. ^ Rooney, Ron (27 April 1992). "Details sought on gas caverns plan". Hull Daily Mail. p. 5.
  9. ^ Highley, Bloodworth & Bate 2006, p. 2.
  10. ^ "Database energy". The Daily Telegraph. No. 47, 267. Business. 25 May 2007. p. 44. ISSN 0307-1235.
  11. ^ Mason, Rowena (4 February 2010). "SSE customers turn down the heat". The Daily Telegraph. No. 48, 109. Business. p. B5 (37). ISSN 0307-1235.
  12. ^ Evans, D. A.; Chadwick, R. A. (2009). Underground gas storage: worldwide experiences and future development in the UK and Europe. London: Geological Society. p. 23. ISBN 9781862392724.
  13. ^ "Aldbrough | SSE Thermal". ssethermal.com. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  14. ^ Gosden, Emily (15 July 2021). "Aldbrough gas storage site could be converted to hold hydrogen". The Times. p. 39. Gale A668571099.
  15. ^ Jahanbakhsh et al. 2024, p. 19.
  16. ^ Laister, David (21 July 2021). "Equinor and SSE announce Humber hydrogen storage plan". Hull Daily Mail. Business. p. 3. ISSN 1741-3419.
  17. ^ Geels, Frank W.; Sovacool, Benjamin K.; Iskandarova, Marfuga (April 2023). "The socio-technical dynamics of net-zero industrial megaprojects: Outside-in and inside-out analyses of the Humber industrial cluster". Energy Research & Social Science. 98: 13. doi:10.1016/j.erss.2023.103003.
  18. ^ Wood, Alexandra (5 September 2023). "Building of hydrogen storage site could start in three years". The Yorkshire Post. p. 2. ISSN 0963-1496.
  19. ^ Ramesh Kumar, Kishan; Honorio, Herminio; Chandra, Debanjan; Lesueur, Martin; Hajibeygi, Hadi (December 2023). "Comprehensive review of geomechanics of underground hydrogen storage in depleted reservoirs and salt caverns". Journal of Energy Storage. 73. Oxford: Elsevier: 13. doi:10.1016/j.est.2023.108912. ISSN 2352-152X.
  20. ^ Miocic, Johannes; Heinemann, Niklas; Edlmann, Katriona; Scafidi, Jonathan; Molaei, Fatemeh; Alcalde, Juan (30 August 2023). "Underground hydrogen storage: a review". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 528 (1). The Geological Society of London: 78. doi:10.1144/sp528-2022-88. hdl:10261/352537. ISSN 0305-8719.
  21. ^ Ma, Nan; Zhao, Weihua; Wang, Wenzhong; Li, Xiangrong; Zhou, Haiqin (January 2024). "Large scale of green hydrogen storage: Opportunities and challenges". International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 50: 382. doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2023.09.021.
  22. ^ Armitage, Tim (February 2025). "Underground hydrogen storage: insights and actions to support the energy transition". bgs.ac.uk. p. 3. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  23. ^ Mitchinson, James, ed. (1 June 2023). "Meetings on plan to use cave for hydrogen". The Yorkshire Post. p. 5. ISSN 0963-1496.
  24. ^ Lawson, Alex (18 December 2022). "SSE begins work on hydrogen storage cavern on Yorkshire coast". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  25. ^ "SSE and Equinor's first-of-a-kind hydrogen project advanced by Government". Contify Energy News. 7 April 2025. Gale A837062360.
  26. ^ Wood, Alexandra (26 April 2025). "Hydrogen-powered plant backed despite 'industrialisation' fears". The Yorkshire Post. p. 6. ISSN 0963-1496.

Sources

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