(Perth / Scotland) – SSE Renewables is expanding massively into southern Europe and is buying a portfolio of onshore wind projects with an output of 3,9 gigawatts from Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE). Half of them are in Spain, the rest in France, Italy and Greece. There is also the possibility of developing solar projects with an output of one gigawatt at various locations, according to the company.
According to the information, the amount of investments is around 580 million euros. SSE Renewables will also take on a team of around 40 employees. The transaction is expected to close by the end of September 2022.
Expansion also in the hydrogen sector
The acquisition is no coincidence, but rather emphasizes SSE Renewables' expansion plans. “The project portfolio will be a real springboard in Europe in the areas of wind, solar, batteries and hydrogen,” emphasizes Managing Director Stephen Wheeler.
The company already owns and operates four gigawatts of renewable energy assets in Great Britain and Ireland, including almost two gigawatts of onshore wind turbines. We also have “a secured pipeline of almost eleven gigawatts of onshore wind, offshore wind and hydropower projects”.
Zero emissions strategy
In its “Net Zero Transition Plan” published in March, the parent company SSE plc emphasizes the particular importance of hydrogen for the group’s further expansion. In its strategy, the energy supplier explains that it wants to significantly develop the potential for hydrogen production by 2030.
In particular, it is planned to add hydrogen to the “Keadby 2” gas and steam power plant of the subsidiary SSE Thermal. The power plant with an output of 893 megawatts is currently being built by Siemens Energy and is scheduled to go into operation in 2022. The location is North Lincolnshire on the English east coast on the River Humber, an industrial region where a number of companies are currently conducting intensive hydrogen activities.
SSE Thermal announced that, together with Equinor, it was planning to convert nine used for natural gas storage Salt caverns in Aldbrough, East Yorkshire, for hydrogen. The storage facilities are located just 80 kilometers from Keadby - and both locations form a triangle on the map with the coastal town, which is barely an hour's drive to the south Grimsby.
There, another consortium - consisting of the British electrolyser manufacturer ITM Power plc, the Danish energy company Ørsted A/S, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and the British consultant Element Energy - wants to develop a system that combines electrolysis at sea with offshore wind turbines . The companies are also investigating the potential of using pipelines to transport hydrogen from sea to land.
Hydrogen for Ireland and Scotland
Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin had just declared at a renewable energy conference that a “Galway Hydrogen Hub(GH2) will develop the port city of Galway on the west coast of Ireland into a hub for hydrogen. In addition to a number of Irish companies, the consortium also includes SSE Renewables.
At the beginning of April, SSE Renewables and Siemens Gamesa announced a joint project to produce green hydrogen using electricity from the 108 megawatt onshore wind farm.Gordonbush“ in Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands. According to the plans, up to 2.000 tons of the energy source will be produced annually via electrolysis. The project also includes lithium-ion battery storage for times when the wind farm generates more electricity than can be processed at the same time.
2026 megawatts are expected to be operational by 500
From the recently acquired SGRE portfolio, SSE Renewables plans to commission around 2026 megawatts by March 500 and initiate the construction of a further 500 megawatts. SSE is also building the “Seagreen” wind farm (1,07 GW, SSE share 49 percent). SSE Renewables' development pipeline also includes the “Berwick Bank” offshore wind farm east of East Lothian in Scotland (4,1 GW) as well as a floating wind farm in Scotland with an output of up to 2,6 gigawatts (SSE share 40 percent).
Internationally, SSE Renewables recently entered the Japanese offshore wind market through the formation of SSE Pacifico and is exploring opportunities in the US and Northern Europe.
Photos
Siemens wind farm. © SSE Renewables
