Scottish Renewables calls for 3GW green hydrogen target for Scotland

Scottish Renewables has called on the Scottish government to target 3GW of green hydrogen by 2030 in a policy position paper.

Published on 10 January, the paper set out a series of recommendations for policymakers to ensure Scotland's abundant potential for hydrogen generation can be maximised, with the 3GW target central to this, something that should be underpinned by an action plan that uses a whole systems planning approach.

It outlined how the action plan should include early identification of potential hydrogen demand clusters and commercial-scale green hydrogen production projects; the most cost-effective priorities for the initial deployment of hydrogen in Scotland; key barriers to deployment of green hydrogen in Scotland, and how to address them; the supporting infrastructure required to support the emergence of a green hydrogen economy in Scotland, and how to enable it; and articulate a support mechanism that incentivises investment in both the supply and demand side of the clusters, projects and priorities that are identified to attract international investors.

It noted that additional funding will be required to support the acceleration of an indigenous market of green hydrogen production, in parallel with supporting the supply chain to maximise economic benefits. It recommended the Scottish government conducts a review with industry to research and identify funding priorities to kickstart the hydrogen economy in Scotland, with these priorities ensuring Scotland can get an early movers advantage. With green hydrogen providing much of the economic opportunity, the majority of funding should be targeted there, with the fund scaled up over time to ensure Scotland is able to achieve maximum economic benefits of a developing green hydrogen economy.

It also outlined recommendations where the Scottish government should work together with the UK government in a bid to ensure green hydrogen is prioritised and accelerated, given its economic contribution potential and cost reduction trajectories; that the opportunities to combine Scottish offshore wind with green hydrogen production to supply the UK and EU markets is assessed and prioritised; that a clear vision of the scope and scale of the supply chain and export ambitions for the hydrogen economy is articulated, ensuring it can be built into the development of the hydrogen economy from an early stage; and a decision is "rapidly made" on the governance and regulation of the emerging hydrogen economy, with this decision making allowing consideration of the overall energy system and delivery of net zero.

As for its recommendations for the UK government alone, it called for it to introduce a separate business model for green hydrogen that includes separate allocation processes and separate pots for green and blue hydrogen, with there being a risk the one-size-fits-all approach could constrain the development of green hydrogen. It should also clarify the pathway for green hydrogen projects, with a clear roadmap for green production with a particular emphasis on setting a target for its deployment.