A proposal for an up to 200-MW green hydrogen facility in a former coal plant town in the Spanish region of Galicia has been declared a “strategic industrial project” by the regional government, a designation that will give the promoters access to a faster permitting process.
The project, known as H2 Meirama, is a joint effort of Spanish power and gas utility Naturgy Energy Group SA (BME:NTGY), multi-energy group Repsol SA (BME:REP) and gas company Reganosa, which plan to invest more than EUR 64 million (USD 70.1m) in the initiative, the Galician regional government said.
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The hydrogen production facilities will be located in the northwestern Spanish town of Cerceda where Naturgy used to operate the now closed Meirama coal-fired power plant. The Meirama grounds will be reused to house 30 MW of electrolysis capacity in the first phase, enabling production of 4,500 tonnes of green hydrogen per year.
The new plant will be expanded to 50 MW and 200 MW in the subsequent phases, reaching a production output of around 30,000 tonnes of hydrogen annually.
The H2 Meirama proposal satisfies the criteria to be classified as a strategic industrial project as it complements value chains of strategic sectors and exceeds the minimum investment threshold of EUR 20 million, the government said.
The project will help revitalise the area of Meirama, which has been negatively impacted by the closure of the thermal power plant. The project promoters will benefit from simplified administrative procedures that come with the declaration, making it possible for them to cut the project commissioning time in half, the government of Galicia highlighted.
(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.095)
