Vast salt caverns designed to store hydrogen are to be excavated under Britain’s biggest former naval base as part of plans to bolster the country’s energy security.
Each the size of St Paul’s Cathedral, the 19 caverns will be dug under Portland Harbour in Dorset and filled with enough hydrogen to fuel a power station for days.
The hydrogen contained in the caverns will be reserved for emergency use and called upon when wind and solar farms are not generating enough energy to keep Britain’s lights on.
Claire Coutinho, the energy secretary, is said to have not only backed the scheme but also altered the Government’s hydrogen storage business policy to ensure it can secure taxpayer subsidies.
UK Oil and Gas (UKOG), the company behind the scheme, has said it will seek planning permission within months.
Stephen Sanderson, UKOG’s chief executive, has said he would make the application under the Government’s nationally significant infrastructure system, allowing it to bypass potential local opposition.
He said: “Portland Port is ideally situated for the construction of large salt caverns as it overlies a 450-metre thick, high-quality rock salt.”
Mr Sanderson added: “I have enjoyed one-on-one meetings with the three key figures from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, including Secretary of State Claire Coutinho, Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance and Graham Stuart, Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero.”
Portland Harbour lies in Weymouth Bay on England’s south coast and was first used as a naval base in the 16th century by Henry VIII.
It was massively expanded last century to accommodate new steam-powered warships, eventually becoming one of the Royal Navy’s biggest bases until it was closed in 1995.
It remains one of the UK’s largest harbours and the training centre for the UK’s Olympic sailing teams.