Harland & Wolff Group Holdings (HARL ) said its subsidiary, Islandmagee Energy Limited (“IMEL”), has received confirmation that it will receive the Environmental Consent Decision, Marine Licence for the Group’s Islandmagee Gas Storage project within the next 28 days.
Islandmagee is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Harland & Wolff Group, formerly known as InfraStrataThe project is a salt cavern gas storage facility in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
The Islandmagee facility is expected to provide over 25% of the UK’s current natural gas storage capacity and will support the growing demand for gas-fired power development and renewable energy generation throughout the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic.
The shipyard and energy infrastructure group said the full Marine Licence will be issued by the Department of Agriculture, Environment & Rural Affairs (DAERA) after reviewing the conditions attached to the draft licence which it concluded was both ‘fair and reasonable’.
The issuance of this licence, which is expected to occur in the next 38 days, will facilitate the abstraction and discharge of seawater and brine respectively during the cavern formation.
Given the ongoing gas supply crisis within Europe and the critically low levels of gas storage currently available in the UK compared with the rest of Europe, the Company believes that it is vital that its Islandmagee gas storage project is constructed and commercialised to help ensure security of supply in the UK, as well as support the transition to a Net-Zero economy.
Harland outlined that the gas project is expected to create at least 400 direct and 1,600 indirect jobs during the construction phase and around 60 direct and 180 indirect jobs during its expected 40-year operational life, thereby supporting investment into Northern Ireland.
Harland explained that the project’s gas caverns have the ability to enable Northern Ireland to become a net exporter of energy to the wider UK. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland, with a series of wind farms and associated hydrogen projects set to be developed within the next decade, is positioned to be ‘a global leader in green hydrogen production,’ Harland told investors.
Shares in Harland & Wolff Group reached highs of 22.5p this morning following the news.
‘A crucial element of moving towards a green hydrogen-based economy is the ability to have large scale storage during periods of surplus production, which can then be injected back into the grid during periods of high demand, very much like natural gas,’ the Company highlighted.
Subject to regulatory approvals, the Company detailed that it believes that its Islandmagee Gas Storage project could be well utilised to transition from the storage of natural gas to a blend of natural gas and hydrogen, and, finally, to hydrogen storage in all its caverns.
Addressing shareholders, the Company said these caverns will not only help provide security of energy supply but will also create flexibility to help balance the grid throughout the year.
CEO of Harland, John Wood stated: “This marks a major step forward in the Project’s journey, paving the way for the construction of our proposed facility. We have worked tirelessly over a two-year period to ensure that our proposals meet and exceed legislative requirements, taking onboard the many comments made by the local community and other stakeholders.”
He added: “A lot has changed within the global gas markets over the last two years. The recent energy supply crisis has raised awareness of how vulnerable we are to gas and power markets volatility.
Everybody now understands just how important gas storage is for the country’s security of supply and to help stabilise gas prices for the end-consumer.
We will now work with DAERA to conclude the last set of activities to obtain the formal Marine Licence, after which point, we will review the Project in its entirety to ensure that we reach a Final Investment Decision (FID) as soon as practicable.”
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