Overview of the Gas Storage Licence#
EnergyPathways plc has announced that its subsidiary, EnergyPathways Irish Sea Limited, will receive a Gas Storage Licence from the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) for its MESH project. This licence is crucial for the development of a large-scale energy storage facility in the East Irish Sea.
Project Details#
The MESH project is designed to include up to 60 large salt storage caverns, which could store energy on a multi terawatt-hour scale. In addition to the offshore component, the project will also have an onshore element located in Barrow-in-Furness. The UK Government has recognized this project as having "national significance," highlighting its importance to the country's energy infrastructure.
Energy Storage Capabilities#
The facility will feature various energy storage methods, including compressed air energy storage, natural gas storage that will transition to hydrogen storage, and hydrogen production capabilities. The natural gas storage is expected to provide up to six days of the national energy supply, with a delivery rate of around 15 million cubic meters per day. The compressed air energy storage is planned to have a capacity of 300 MW and 55 GWh.
Future Plans and Partnerships#
EnergyPathways is collaborating with several partners, including Siemens Energy, Costain plc, Wood plc, and Zenith Energy, to advance the project. The company aims to make a Final Investment Decision by 2028, with the goal of starting operations by late 2031. Discussions regarding funding and capacity offtake are currently underway. Ben Clube, CEO of EnergyPathways, expressed his satisfaction with meeting the NSTA's criteria for this important licence, noting that it is one of the few energy licence awards in recent years. Additionally, the company has recently begun front-end engineering design for its compressed air energy storage development.