Gas storage project being eyed to help boost UK capacity by up to 50%
Plans are being mooted for an ยฃ830 million project off the UK coast that claims to be able to boost the UKโs depleted gas storage capacity by up to 50%, it has been revealed.
British-Irish energy firm dCarbonX, which is backed by Europeโs largest gas infrastructure operator Snam, is proposing to redevelop the former Bains gas site, which is near Barrow-in-Furness and around 30 kilometres off the coast of north-west England in Morecambe Bay.
The company said it would have the capacity to increase the UKโs gas storage by as much as 50%, and help address a mounting โnational security riskโ.
Britain has the lowest gas storage capability in the G7, at just 12 days worth of average winter gas demand, far below the 90 days or more for Germany, France and Italy, according to dCarbonX.
The Bains site would be capable of storing 1.4 billion cubic metres of gas, which is thought to be enough to meet around an extra six days of average demand, the group said.
Tony OโReilly, chief executive of dCarbonX, said: โThe UK doesnโt just have a market gap โ it has a strategic risk.
โGas is no longer just a commodity; it is the key transition fuel and an insurance policy for stable growth.
โAs such, failure to address its essential role is a national security risk. Other countries are acting accordingly. We must do the same.โ
The group said the Bains site, which was previously a producing gas field, could be operational in less than five years, but is subject to regulatory and investment approval.
Rough, off the coast of Yorkshire in the North Sea, is the UKโs biggest gas storage site.
Owner Centrica has long warned it will be decommissioned without government support to allow investment in the site, because of concerns about its financial liability.
The Rough site comprises about half of Britainโs storage capacity, and acts as a buffer when the weather is especially cold and demand for gas spikes.
Centrica chief executive Chris OโShea has previously claimed that if Rough had been operating at full capacity over the two years at the height of the energy crisis, it could have saved UK consumers more than ยฃ5 billion, or ยฃ200 for every household.
