From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT
By Paul Homewood
Hydrogen could replace natural gas in thousands of homes under controversial plans to decarbonise entire towns in Britain’s push towards net zero.
Ministers have asked the UK’s main gas network operators to nominate the most suitable towns to be moved from methane to pure hydrogen as part of the pilot over the next decade.
It comes as the Government prepares to publish its long-awaited “Hydrogen Roadmap”, which will set out how the UK can build a network of hydrogen production factories, and convert homes, businesses, and transport networks to the green fuel.
In a recent letter from the Government, operators were told that policymakers want to “support the development of plans for a pilot hydrogen town which could potentially be implemented before the end of this decade”.
They were asked to supply the names of towns they deemed “most suitable for conversion to enable hydrogen heating at scale”.
Subsequent suggestions for potential hydrogen towns include Aberdeen, Scunthorpe, and areas close to Humberside and Merseyside.
Two towns in Wales and another in the West Country have also been proposed, although only one or two of the nominated towns will be chosen.
The plan will no doubt prove controversial.
The Government has already been forced to abandon plans for a smaller “hydrogen village” in Whitby after local protests.
However, moving the UK away from natural gas is essential to achieve net zero targets and Ministers are seeking new ways to press ahead.
Decarbonising heating has become a bit of a Pushmi-Pullyu!
One minute the government is advised to concentrate on heat pumps, because rolling out a hydrogen network is far too complex, costly and problematic.
The next minute hydrogen is back in favour because of the drawbacks of heat pumps!
I’m not really sure what any of these trials will achieve, other than cost taxpayers a lot of money. We already know that it is possible to pipe hydrogen into homes, and we know that you can burn it in a gas boiler with suitable modifications. If the government is really concerned about the safety aspects, it should not be using the good folk of Aberdeen as guinea pigs!
The real issue is how you produce it in the first place, how you store enough of it for winter, and how you move it around the country.
The plan of course is to use electrolysis, powered by renewable energy. But for the next decade and more, there will be no spare wind or solar power, as it will be maxed out on the grid. At most there may be a small amount of surplus wind power available at times, but far too little to be of any real use.
Electrolysis using expensive offshore wind power is also horribly inefficient and costly.
That then leaves steam reforming natural gas, which emits carbon dioxide, is also costly and uses more gas than you would if you burnt gas in the first place. None of which make it a sensible option.
I suspect this is just more nonsense dreamt up by the government’s green advisors in the DESNZ, desperate to be seen to be doing something!
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