Green infrastructure developer Cerulean Winds has revealed an ambitious plan to accelerate decarbonisation of oil and gas assets through an integrated 200-turbine floating wind and hydrogen development.The £10 billion proposed green infrastructure play would have the capacity to abate 20 million tonnes of CO2 through simultaneous North Sea projects West of Shetland and in the Central North Sea. The proposed development involves:
- Over 200 of the largest floating turbines at sites West of Shetland and in the Central North Sea with 3GW per hour of capacity, feeding power to the offshore facilities and excess 1.5 GW per hour power to onshore green hydrogen plants.
- Ability to electrify the majority of current UKCS assets as well as future production potential from 2024 to reduce emissions well ahead of abatement targets.
- 100% availability of green power to offshore platforms at a price below current gas turbine generation through a self-sustained scheme with no upfront cost to operators.
- The development of green hydrogen at scale and £1 billion hydrogen export potential.
- No subsidies or CFD requirements and hundreds of millions of pounds to government revenue via leases and taxation through to 2030.
Cerulean has undertaken the necessary infrastructure planning for the scheme to ensure the required level of project readiness, targeting financial close in Q1 2022. Construction would start soon after with energisation commencing in 2024. An Infrastructure Project Finance model, commonly used for major capital projects is being adopted.
The venture is now calling on UK and Scottish governments to make an ‘exceptional’ case to deliver an ‘extraordinary’ outcome for the economy and the environment. A formal request for seabed leases has been submitted to Marine Scotland. Cerulean Winds is led by serial entrepreneurs Dan Jackson and Mark Dixon, who have more than 25 years’ experience working together on large-scale offshore infrastructure developments in the oil and gas industry.