| Client | Wales and West Utilities (WWU) |
|---|---|
| Turley office | Cardiff , Bristol |
| Status | Completion of a Hydrogen Infrastructure Planning and Legal Delivery Strategy |
| LPA | Pembrokeshire County Council, Carmarthenshire County Council, Swansea Council, Neath Port Talbot Council |
Establishing the planning and consenting strategy for the delivery of hydrogen pipeline infrastructure across Wales and England
Our role
- Working in collaboration with BDB Pitmans, Turley prepared a Planning and Legal Delivery Strategy for the development of hydrogen infrastructure across Wales and England, including a cross-border scenario.
- Using WWU’s HyLine Cymru (South Wales) as a case study, it set out the relevant policy and legislation and addressed the key development considerations to bring forward hydrogen infrastructure. This included routes to streamlining future consenting options.
- A Public Affairs Strategy was prepared to engage and secure support for the consenting pathway(s) with political and industry stakeholders in Wales, with learnings for England.
- Specialist input outlined the sustainability and socio-economic methodology to promote the benefits of HyLine Cymru, and how this could apply to all hydrogen infrastructure projects.
Results
- The Strategy addressed a recognised gap in current knowledge regarding planning and consenting routes for hydrogen infrastructure. This included a gap within emerging legislation in Wales for projects of national importance, where there is no reference to hydrogen.
- The findings, recommendations and next steps were presented to the client and informed WWU’s plans to deliver hydrogen infrastructure and reach net zero by 2050.
- The Strategy provides a pathway for network providers to develop hydrogen infrastructure within Wales, England or both, now and in the future. A Summary Strategy was prepared for WWU to share learnings with all network providers.
- By identifying opportunities to streamline planning and consenting, and robust methodologies to present project benefits, network providers can work collectively and innovatively to speed up delivery at a cross-country scale. The Strategy supports the timely delivery of hydrogen infrastructure, playing a key role in achieving net zero by 2050.