Pembroke Power Station
Dozens of ships arrive every week on the Milford Haven waterway, many carrying huge cargoes of crude oil and natural gas .
In one form or another, the port of Wales is the conduit for more than a quarter of Britain's energy supplies.
It is here that shipment after shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been made. it was unloaded last winter to be regasified and sent to Europe by pipeline as the continent resisted Vladimir Putin's attempts to limit supplies.
However, its role will change in the coming decades as the UK moves away from oil and gas towards renewables energy sources.
If local business leaders have their way, Milford Haven will be reinvented as a hydrogen production, carbon capture and offshore wind power station as part of the transition to net zero.
“We now sit on the horizon of a new era in the waterway's history “says Tom Sawyer, executive director of the Port of Milford Haven.
“This is a really big opportunity for us — and everyone here is getting it.”
Haven is a key part of the South Wales Industrial Cluster, a group that also includes Swansea, Port Talbot and Newport. The area is home to industries as diverse as steel and paper, and accounts for a quarter of Wales' total carbon dioxide emissions and around 5% of the UK's total emissions. This means that if the country wants to decarbonise, Milford Haven must do the same.
The groundwork for a major overhaul is already being laid.
RWE operates the Pembroke Power Station on the south side of the waterway. The facility is currently one of the largest and most efficient gas power plants in Europe. But over the next two years, bosses will have to make key decisions about its future.
“If you were to just carry on with business as usual, you would effectively have to close on December 31, 2034. » says Roland Long, manager of the Pembroke Power Station. «So you're asking yourself, what are your options?»
Roland Long, Pembroke Power Station Manager
RWE is considering the possibility of making the power station «green» by capturing direct emissions from its gas-fired units and storing them. The emissions will have to be converted into liquefied CO2 and then transported to another location — probably to empty oil and gas reservoirs under the North Sea.
At the same time, the German company is exploring the possibility of creating two green hydrogen plants, where electrolysers would convert water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity.
He is also considering building a battery storage plant on the site. And land has been earmarked for a separate «blue» hydrogen plant, where natural gas will be combined with steam to produce hydrogen.
All options are being considered.
“We have engineers working on it now,” Long says. “What do we need if we do carbon capture? How would we actually extend the life of this plant? It's about the absolute details, so it's a very exciting time for people working in the energy industry.»
Oil and Tanker- The chemical tanker Bro Deliverer is moored at the Milford Haven Waterway wharf. Photo: Ben Stansall/AFP
Hydrogen could potentially allow nearby facilities such as the Valero refinery, which is capable of producing 270,000 barrels of oil per day, to decarbonize heating-related jobs. Hydrogen can be used to power industrial processes instead of natural gas.
However, much of the investment appeal of projects in Milford Haven depends on other projects being developed elsewhere.
For example, the green electricity that will power RWE's electrolyzers is expected to come from new floating wind farms off the coast of the Celtic Sea. The Crown Estate estimates there is a potential capacity of 20 gigawatts, the equivalent of about 1,000 skyscraper-sized turbines.
But offshore wind developers received no bids at the government's latest renewable energy subsidy auction. because the prices offered were too low. This calls into question the supply of clean energy to Milford Haven.
New infrastructure will also need to be built to transport hydrogen across South Wales.
Valero Pembroke refinery in Milford Haven Photo: Matthew Horwood /Getty
Sarah Williams, director of asset strategy at gas network operator Wales & West Utilities, says its company is currently studying plans for an 80-mile steel pipeline called HyLine Cymru.
But the project cannot proceed without assurances that there will be both local hydrogen production and, most importantly, willing customers.
“This will be a major industry support project,” says Williams. “However, it is clear that there is no point in building a pipeline if we cannot confirm that hydrogen will be available to flow through it, or if there are no customers who will use it.”
Some of them demand is expected to come from transport. Transport for South Wales, for example, is currently trialling buses that use hydrogen fuel cells.
However, a number of large industrial users must sign up for the amounts to increase.
Against this backdrop is the recent decision Tata Steel's scrapping of its Port Talbot coal blast furnaces and replacing them with electric arc systems has been a blow.
The change would mean no longer making steel from ore at the plant, a process that could be done using hydrogen instead of fossil fuels. Instead, the plant is switching to using scrap metal to make recycled steel. The process will be powered by electricity generated by nearby wind farms.
Meanwhile, the Port of Milford Haven is busy upgrading its own infrastructure in preparation for what it predicts will be a wind energy boom. Changes include new «stacking» zones that will make it easier for companies to handle large components such as turbine towers and blades, as well as «super slips» to make parts easier to transport.
Although a recent government auction didn't yield any bids for offshore wind projects, Sawyer believes future rounds are sure to produce results given the potential of the Celtic Sea.
“You have over 1,000, that’s very large turbines going up,” Sawyer adds. «They'll need businesses that can make armatures, chains, cables, so you need welders, fabricators, mechanical and electrical engineers — it's just a huge opportunity.»
The combined plans could bring £6 billion into the local economy
Even if Port Talbot doesn't use hydrogen for its electric arc furnaces, Sawyer argues that the recycled steel the plant will produce should be useful for making wind turbines.
“I do see an announcement about steel at Port Talbot just great because it will always be a long pole in the tent.”
The Port of Milford Haven has applied for a government grant to help fund the work. If all goes to plan, it is hoped the combined plans for the South Wales industrial cluster could add £6 billion to the local economy.
The port is also bidding for free port status, which would open up tax breaks such as a reduction business tariffs for all planned new infrastructure. Getting planning consent and upgrading the local network as quickly as possible is also considered vital.
“We want to win this competition,” says Sawyer. “And we see ourselves competing with Portugal, Norway and the Far East to win this business.
“This is truly a once in a generation opportunity and it finally seems like the momentum is coming for us.” .< /p>
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