The Policy Exchange report discovered that 2022 volumes of curtailed output represented nearly 120,000 tonnes of gas

A new study has encouraged the UK government to support the increased adoption of electrolysers in heavily curtailed wind areas to harness wasted energy. Through modelling by LCP Delta, the Policy Exchange report identifies that electrolysing the UK’s wasted renewable energy could deliver enough hydrogen to replace approximately two-thirds of the current 700,000 tonnes associated with the carbon-intensive grey hydrogen consumption each year.

Wasted wind to clean hydrogen highlights the UK is potentially losing up to £1 billion each year due to systems constraints, and forecasts believe this could rise to an annual figure of £3.5 billion.

The study discovered that the volume of wasted wind generated in 2022 equated to over 118,000 tonnes of green hydrogen and was forecast to rise to 455,000 tonnes by 2029. Angus MacNeil, MP and Chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee explains that the Policy Exchange report represents the opportunity to be more efficient with our existing energy infrastructure and leverage wasted renewable energy into clean hydrogen.

The report proposes that by collaborating with industry, we could achieve a significant saving and deliver major investments into hydrogen production capacity, particularly in Northern Scotland and other regions in the UK. The potential is considerable, representing two-thirds of our electrolysis target for 2030.

The report, ‘Wasted Wind to Clean Hydrogen’, highlights the policy measures available to the Government to enable a partnership with industry and to harness these opportunities following a series of top recommendations, including collaborating with the renewables sector in delivering the Constraint Management Plans (CMPs).

Other recommendations include adopting the Contract for Difference (CfD) regime to enable incentives for generators to establish partnerships to produce hydrogen.

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