Ricardo along with the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) joined forces to support a new solar powered hydrogen production facility on the Isle of Wight.
In fact, the initiative is funded by the Rural Community Energy Fund which goals to test the viability of developing renewable energy solutions, boost the local community and reduce the industry’s environmental impact.
Wight Community Energy will focus on using existing solar capacity to produce hydrogen as an alternative to high-carbon fossil fuels.
We believe that developing hydrogen production while expanding our existing solar capacity could be a really promising avenue to explore and we are excited to progress these feasibility studies.
..Colin Palmer spokesperson for Wight Community Energy said.
All partners will provide their expertise in order to complete the project. Ricardo from its side will assess the scale of hydrogen production and use, as well as the commercial model for the facility.
Ricardo has worked on a wide range of community energy projects and we’re proud to utilize our renewable energy expertise to support the residents of the Isle of Wight in the delivery in this innovative hydrogen project.
…Colin McNaught, Ricardo transport energy infrastructure manager, commented.
At the same time, EMEC will assess the safety and regulatory aspects of the project, focusing on the use of hydrogen in the maritime sector.
In fact, the produced hydrogen is destined for ferry and bus companies, the rail network, commercial vehicles, or marine propulsion.
Alternatively, hydrogen generated from surplus solar energy could be used as a means of energy storage.
Richard Ainsworth, EMEC Hydrogen manager, noted:
Our hydrogen projects focus on the generation of hydrogen from renewable sources and the decarbonisation of lifeline island services such as ferries. EMEC is passionate about pushing for a decarbonised island cluster by 2030 and believe that green hydrogen has a key role to play in the net zero energy mix.
