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Hydrogen village trials will only go ahead in areas where there is strong public support for them, the government has confirmed.
The announcement comes following local protests against plans for a hydrogen village trail in Whitby in Ellesmere Port.
In a meeting organised by Cheshire West and Chester Council, the government said in a prepared statement that it would “not go ahead with a trial in an area where there is not strong local support”.
“Strong community engagement support is vital for the success of a project like this,” the government statement added. “That is why evidence of substantial local support validated by an external independent source such as the local council is one of our key assessment criteria in selecting a location.”
A government spokesperson said that further details about the mechanism of assessing local support will be outlined soon.
This proposed Whitby trial is one of two areas being considered for the UK’s first hydrogen village, with 2,000 properties being switched from natural gas to hydrogen. Cadent, which is leading the bid, has promised that residents will get free upgrades to their homes and that over the two-year programme they will pay no more than for gas.
Last month, a Citizens Advice bureau ended its contract to provide support around Cadent’s hydrogen village project, after being asked too many questions about hydrogen.
Marc Clarke, head of hydrogen consumer at Cadent, said: “We will continue to proactively engage with the residents of Whitby, hearing and listening to the broad church of opinions that come from right across the community.”
He added: “We value all local input and we welcome this continued dialogue as we attend and host local community meetings, deliver regular webinars, and communicate accurate information about the benefits of the proposed trial. All feedback and findings will be delivered to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, as per the criteria set out in their submission process.”
The proposed second trial would take place in Redcar and is being led by Northern Gas Networks.
Again it involves switching the gas supply from natural gas to clean burning hydrogen for around 2,000 homes and businesses in parts of the town.
A spokesperson for Northern Gas Networks added: “Our consultation in Redcar has shown strong local support for our plans. We will continue to work closely with the government on next steps, and are available to speak to any residents who may have concerns.”
Both projects are slated to begin in 2025 and run for around two years. Ofgem is due to make a decision by the end of this year over which village will be selected for the trial.
Development of the trial proposals are being funded through levies on consumer bills.
Silvia Simon, head of hydrogen at the Energy Networks Association said: “Hydrogen villages will help ensure that Britain’s energy networks can deliver different types of low carbon energy to different places, so from industrial users to homes and business owners, people will have the energy solutions they need to reduce their carbon emissions.
“There are no ‘one size fits all’ approaches to decarbonisation and it is important that customers have a choice in the type of energy they use, so different types of housing, different industries and different types of businesses can find the right low carbon solution for them.”
The role that hydrogen will play in heating UK homes has been called into question in recent months.
Last month, the House of Lords environment and climate change committee blamed the low take up of Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) grants on “mixed messaging” about hydrogen’s future role in home heating.
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