Question reference: S6W-27160
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Falkirk West, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 1 May 2024
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Current status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 14 May 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what progress has been made with electricity and gas network operators to realise system benefits of hydrogen, as set out in its Hydrogen Action Plan.
Answer
Scotland’s huge potential for renewable electricity generation, and hydrogen’s utility, means that it can also act as a vector for energy storage and a balancing service to the electricity grid. It can additionally act as a vector for transportation, particularly considering grid constraints.
We are engaging closely with the UKG, OfGEM, and National Grid ESO ahead of the launch of the National Energy System operator this Summer to underline the need for strategic planning and to ensure that hydrogen production, storage and system utility is considered and other areas such as progressive approaches to flexibility reform and grid connection timelines, as they affect the viability of hydrogen projects, are reflected in our engagement in strategic programmes such as the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) and Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) and the ESO Constraints Collaboration project which is seeking solutions for thermal constraints, which can reduce costs to the consumer or reduce the curtailment of renewable generation.