Week left to have say on Humber carbon scheme
PROJECT WILL TAKE 31 MONTHS TO CONSTRUCT IF APPROVED
MEMBERS of the public have a week left to respond to the latest route proposals for a series of pipelines known as the Humber Low Carbon project. The scheme will involve the construction of pipelines across the Humber, East Riding and North Lincolnshire. Carbon would be captured and stored beneath the North Sea while hydrogen gas would go the other way. In the second round of consultations opened on October 31 and running until November 29, people can have their say on possible above ground installations and the proposed pipeline routes. Drop-in sessions have been held along the route to allow residents to find out more about the scheme. The route has been developed and will be built by National Grid Ventures. The pipelines will be buried at 1.2 metres, or four feet, depth.
The pipeline proposals are separated into five sections:
■ Drax to Keadby
■ Keadby to Scunthorpe ■ Scunthorpe to Killingholme ■ Killingholme to Hedon ■ Hedon to Easington
The above ground installations are needed “to safely and efficiently operate the pipelines as well as conduct routine inspections and maintenance” and are planned at intervals along the route, including Drax power station and near British Steel, Scunthorpe. The carbon dioxide transporting pipeline will connect to a pump facility near the coast, earmarked for near Easington. At this facility, the pressure of carbon dioxide would be increased to allow for quick transportation via a 103 km offshore sub-sea pipeline to the Endurance storage site beneath the North Sea.
It will be injected into a Triassic-age geological feature, known as the Bunter Sandstone Formation, formed about 250 million years ago. On the hydrogen transportation side, the Humber Low Carbon project will have capacity to transport up to 10 gigawatts. As the pipeline route will be more than 16km, it will be classed as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). The secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy will have the final say on giving consent to the project.
As the pipeline route will be more than 16km, it will be classed as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). The secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy will have the final say on giving consent to the project.
If approved, construction will begin in late 2024 to 2025 with earliest possible completion in 2026. Just under 500 construction workers will be employed in the land-based elements of the Humber Low Carbon project. The National Grid Ventures project brochure stresses: “Please note that for the most part, construction will not affect a location for the whole two years.” There is £15bn of investment across a dozen projects in the Humber region linked to the scheme, including two plans from Equinor for hydrogen production in the Humber. They, Drax, SSE, British Steel, Triton Power, Ineos, Uniper and Shell will all be users of it, which is planned as a focal point for wider Zero Carbon Humber ambitions. National Grid Ventures have created a dedicated website with resources to allow the public to find out more about the project. Members of the public have until 8.59am on Monday, November 29, to have their say.