By Jamie Waller, Local Democracy Reporter
A prototype power station which will turn ammonia into hydrogen is due to be given planning approval next week.
It will be located on the same spot where one of the cooling towers at the former High Marnham Power Station once stood before its demolition.
The plant will use an electric heater to ‘crack’ tanks of ammonia gas into harmless nitrogen and hydrogen, which can be used as a renewable source of energy.
It is expected to produce 200kg of hydrogen per day, which applicant JG Pears Property LTD says will be useful for construction sites and other industries that have difficulty connecting to the electricity grid.
The project is expected to create eight full-time jobs in order to staff the site 24 hours a day.
Bassetlaw District Council has recommended the application be approved at its planning committee meeting on February 7.
The original power station was operational between 1959 and 2003, with the five cooling towers finally being demolished in 2012.
Three objections have been received from local residents, including Dunham-on-Trent with Ragnall, Darlton and Fledborough Parish Council.
“[High Marnham] remains relatively unchanged with little noise and no light pollution and is an enjoyable place to live and work – we’d like to keep it that way,” the council said.
They said traffic would have to “navigate sharp bends and blind corners through our rural villages”, and claimed there had been three traffic accidents near the plant on Fledborough Road in the last month.
However, the council’s report found that the amount of traffic – around three tankloads per week plus staff – would be negligible.
The application says: “The investment will see the start of a new ‘greener’ energy source and will support sectors that typically find it difficult to connect to grid electricity.
“This investment should be welcomed for the provision of new job opportunities and for stimulating further economic activity at the former High Marnham Power Station.”
The hydrogen produced each day will be enough to power at least five hydrogen fuel cell-electric buses.
The gas is expected to make up a growing proportion of the UK’s power as it moves towards net zero energy, as it can be produced without any carbon emissions.
The excess nitrogen, which isn’t a greenhouse gas, will be released into the atmosphere.
