Delivering LCoE modelling vital to viability of offshore wind, hydrogen project

Black & Veatch supports 985 MW of offshore wind, green hydrogen production in Ireland

Black & Veatch has undertaken the levelised cost of energy (LCoE) modelling vital to informing the viability – and advancing the development – of a 985-megawatt (MW) offshore wind and green hydrogen production project in Ireland.

The project is off Ireland’s northwest coast. The initial phase used both floating and fixed wind turbines to power onshore electrolysis of green hydrogen, for onsite conversion into green ammonia.

The initial phase comprised 67 wind turbines – 58 fixed and nine floating – covering about 210 square kilometers, including a 484-MW-capacity electrolyser plant and ammonia production facility.

Black & Veatch modelled the entire project lifecycle: development expenditure, capital expenditure, operational expenditure and decommissioning expenditure for all of these assets. The modelling helped shape the initial phase’s final scope informing the developer’s choice of onshore, rather than offshore, electrolysis, as well as the decision to convert the hydrogen into green ammonia.

For a project such as this, the fullest analysis can only come from advisors with substantial fixed and floating offshore wind expertise, as well as strong green hydrogen and ammonia production experience. This is vital to give developers and investors the confidence to proceed with these essential decarbonisation projects.

As Ireland’s drive to net zero gathers momentum demand for green ammonia will be strong, with the compound being used not just in its traditional fertiliser production role but also for energy storage, as a hydrogen carrier and as a zero-carbon fuel. Consequently, this Irish-owned project will help reduce fossil fuel use and support the country’s sustainable growth.

The project was realised in line with the developer’s ethos of improving marine sustainability, seeking not only to mitigate project impacts but to improve the condition of the surrounding marine environments.

Supporting this project is just one way Black & Veatch is helping develop Ireland’s hydrogen economy. The company also played a leading role in one of the country’s first co-located onshore wind-powered green hydrogen plants.