The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) is to become the regulator for the UK’s offshore hydrogen storage and transport.
Following a government consultation, the NSTA is to become the licensing and consenting authority for offshore hydrogen pipelines, similar to current arrangements for oil and gas.
It will also have powers over hydrogen storage offshore, which will allow it to issue licences, and become a consultee on environmental regulator OPRED’s decisions on decommissioning and repurposing infrastructure.
The move follows the UK Government hydrogen strategy in 2021, and an ambition for 10GW of low carbon hydrogen capacity to be available in the UK by 2030.
Hedvig Ljungerud, NSTA Director of Strategy, said: “This decision highlights the importance of hydrogen in a net zero future and further cements the NSTA’s role in driving forward the energy transition. We fully appreciate the need for an integrated energy basin and firmly believe we are best placed to deliver it.
“It is also vital for the development of the wider hydrogen economy, which the NSTA will support alongside our ongoing work in carbon storage and fossil fuels.”
The plans were placed in parliament today and, subject to approval, the NSTA will become the regulator within 21 days.
The UK Hydrogen Strategy estimated that 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production could produce hydrogen equivalent to the amount of gas consumed by over 3 million households in the UK each year.
This new, low carbon hydrogen could help provide cleaner energy to power our economy and our everyday lives – from cookers to power plants, to the heat in our homes.
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