AMBITIOUS proposals for a major gas storage facility on Portland have been announced.

UK Oil & Gas Plc (UKOG) has signed an Agreement to Lease with Portland Port covering two sites at the former navy base for an 'Energy Hub'.

The plan is to create caverns from existing salt deposits to develop a hydrogen storage facility.

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The Hub - which would need planning consent - would centre around hydrogen-ready gas storage alongside future capability for green hydrogen generation. The UK Hydrogen Strategy, launched in August 2021, identifies ‘green hydrogen’ as playing a key factor in the future sustainability of Britain’s energy production.

The announcement builds on a similar, unfulfilled, project by Portland Gas Storage that was granted planning permission by Dorset County Council in 2008.

Under the new proposals it is hoped that the Energy Hub would open by 2025 and serve as ‘a needed kickstart’ for the local economy.

The amount the facility would cost and the amount of jobs which would be created isn't being disclosed.

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Brian Alexander, Communications Director at UKOG, said under the plans, the Energy Hub could store up to 14% of the current estimated daily natural gas consumption in the UK.

He said: “The project could be hugely significant. We’re told this qualifies as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) and when it’s up and running it will increase the amount of storage by a seventh and that would keep an awful lot of homes heated. Our focus is looking ahead to when the country shifts to a sustainable hydrogen economy and creating the infrastructure that means we can lead the way on that.”

He added: “Portland Port is actually the perfect place for us to get this project off the ground because of the amount of salt: enormous layers and there’s a huge depth of salt storage facilities that we could use. It’s safe, it’s clean, it’s sustainable.”

Stephen Sanderson, UKOG's Chief Executive, said the scheme would provide the foundations for a “significant and strategic element of the future green hydrogen economy”.

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Portland Port said it was pleased to announce the signing of an agreement for lease with UK Oil & Gas PLC for the development of a hydrogen ready energy hub within the port.

Bill Reeves, Portland Port Group CEO, said: “Since the proposed Portland Gas Project of nearly 15 years ago, the port has been working with several prospective developers to realize the opportunity of a gas storage facility. This agreement with UK Oil & Gas PLC brings these discussions to fruition, with the development of a future proof hydrogen ready energy hub."