TIDMHARL
RNS Number : 8619O
Harland & Wolff Group Holdings PLC
13 October 2021
13 October 2021
Harland & Wolff Group Holdings plc
("Harland & Wolff" or the "Company")
Notification by Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural
Affairs ("DAERA") to issue the Marine Licence for the Islandmagee
Gas Storage project.
Harland & Wolff Group Holdings plc (AIM: HARL), the shipyard
and energy infrastructure group with over 160 years of maritime and
offshore engineering pedigree, is delighted to announce that its
subsidiary, Islandmagee Energy Limited ("IMEL"), has been notified
by the Department of Agriculture, Environment & Rural Affairs
(DAERA) that it will issue the Environmental Consent Decision,
Marine Licence, reviewed Abstraction Licence and Discharge Consent
for the Islandmagee Gas Storage project (the "Project").
The Company has reviewed the conditions attached to the draft
Marine Licence and believes that they are fair and reasonable, and
therefore, acceptable, which will lead to the issuance, by DAERA,
of the full Marine Licence within the next 28 days. The issuance of
this licence will facilitate the abstraction and discharge of
seawater and brine respectively during the cavern formation.
Given the ongoing gas supply crisis within Europe and the
critically low levels of gas storage currently available in the UK
compared with the rest of Europe, the Company believes that it is
vital that this storage project is constructed and commercialised
to help ensure security of supply in the UK, as well as support the
transition to a Net-Zero economy. The Project's gas caverns have
the ability to enable Northern Ireland to become a net exporter of
energy to the wider United Kingdom. The Project is expected to
create at least 400 direct and 1,600 indirect jobs during the
construction phase and around 60 direct and 180 indirect jobs
during its expected 40-year operational life, supporting investment
into Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland, with a series of wind farm and associated
hydrogen projects set to be developed within the next decade, is
uniquely positioned to be a world leader in green hydrogen
production. A crucial element of moving towards a green
hydrogen-based economy is the ability to have large scale storage
during periods of surplus production, which can then be injected
back into the grid during periods of high demand, very much like
natural gas. Subject to regulatory approvals, the Company believes
that its Islandmagee Gas Storage project can be well utilised to
transition from the storage of natural gas to a blend of natural
gas and hydrogen, and, finally, to hydrogen storage in all its
caverns. These caverns will not only help provide security of
energy supply but will also create flexibility to help balance the
grid throughout the year.
Harland & Wolff's Group CEO, John Wood commented: "We are
delighted to receive the news that the much- awaited Marine License
for the Project is now progressing. This marks a major step forward
in the Project's journey, paving the way for the construction of
our proposed facility. We have worked tirelessly over a two-year
period to ensure that our proposals meet and exceed legislative
requirements, taking onboard the many comments made by the local
community and other stakeholders.
A lot has changed within the global gas markets over the last
two years. The recent energy supply crisis has raised awareness of
how vulnerable we are to gas and power markets volatility.
Everybody now understands just how important gas storage is for the
country's security of supply and to help stabilise gas prices for
the end-consumer. We will now work with DAERA to conclude the last
set of activities to obtain the formal Marine Licence, after which
point, we will review the Project in its entirety to ensure that we
reach a Final Investment Decision (FID) as soon as practicable. A
further update will be provided to the market in due course."
About the Islandmagee Gas Storage Project
The Islandmagee Gas Storage project is a salt cavern gas storage
facility located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The
Islandmagee peninsula is the site of Northern Ireland's main
gas-fired power station at Ballylumford, the strategic electrical
interconnection point to Great Britain and the terminating point of
the existing Scotland-Northern Ireland gas pipeline, making it an
ideal location for an energy project of this type. Once completed,
the Islandmagee Gas Storage facility will consist of seven
underground caverns, capable of storing a total of approximately
500 million cubic metres of gas in Permian salt beds, a well-proven
technique that represents the most environmentally friendly, safe
and efficient method of storing large volumes of gas.
The Islandmagee facility is expected to provide over 25% of the
UK's current natural gas storage capacity and will support the
growing demand for gas-fired power development and renewable energy
generation throughout the United Kingdom and the Irish
Republic.
Islandmagee is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Harland & Wolff
Group Holdings plc (AIM: HARL), formerly known as InfraStrata
plc.
As noted by Oxford Analytica* in a report focussing on domestic
gas storage, it was highlighted that:
-- During construction, 400 direct jobs will be created, as well
as between 800 and 1,200 indirect jobs, expected to bring around
GBP7 million into the local economy. It has also been estimated
that during this stage that for every GBP1 million of capital
expenditure, a further GBP2 million will be created in the economy;
this means with 75% local content, the wider economy could benefit
by around GBP400 million.
-- During operation, a further 60 direct jobs will be created,
expected to bring in around GBP1 million into the local economy and
between 120 and 180 indirect which would bring in a further GBP2-3
million.
-- Many of the jobs created will be skilled Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) jobs as detailed in the Belfast
Region City Deal.
* Oxford Analytica Report :
https://www.harland-wolff.com/news/3d-flip-book/domestic-gas-storage/
This announcement contains inside information.
For further information, please visit www.harland-wolff.com or contact:
InfraStrata plc +44 (0)20 3900 2122
John Wood, Chief Executive investor@h arland-wolff.com
Seena Shah, Head of Marketing & Communications media@harland-wolff.com
Cenkos Securities plc (Nominated Adviser
& Broker)
Stephen Keys / Callum Davidson (Corporate
Finance)
Michael Johnson (Sales) +44 (0)20 7397 8900
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