EnergyPathways given license for Irish Sea gas storage project
The UK’s North Sea Transition Authority has awarded EnergyPathways a gas storage license for its planned MESH project, which is located in the East Irish Sea and onshore in Barrow-in-Furness, both in northwest England.
The license covers a large offshore area that could support construction of up to 60 subsurface salt storage caverns that could provide multi-terawatt hour energy storage, subject to consents.
MESH will feature a combination of compressed air energy storage, natural gas storage transitioning to hydrogen storage, and complementary hydrogen production.
The planned natural gas storage facility could double Britain’s present gas storage capacity, with up to six days of national energy supply, and high deliverability rates of about 15 Mcm/d for rapid grid back up supply.
EnergyPathways, along with contractors Siemens Energy, Costain, Wood and Zenith Energy, now plan to progress the MESH project to FID in 2028 and start up by late 2031, subject to planning and other approvals.
About the Author
Jeremy Beckman
Editor, Europe
Jeremy Beckman has been Editor Europe, Offshore since 1992. Prior to joining Offshore he was a freelance journalist for eight years, working for a variety of electronics, computing and scientific journals in the UK. He regularly writes news columns on trends and events both in the NW Europe offshore region and globally. He also writes features on developments and technology in exploration and production.