Flotta Terminal Large-scale Hydrogen Hub Proposal

That the Parliament welcomes news that Offshore Wind Power Limited (OWPL), the consortium formed by Macquarie’s Green Investment Group, TotalEnergies and Scottish developer Renewable Infrastructure Development Group (RIDG), has announced plans to develop a large-scale green hydrogen facility in Orkney; notes that the OWPL consortium has submitted a proposal to the Crown Estate Scotland’s offshore wind leasing round, ScotWind, to develop a West of Orkney Windfarm, which, if successful, could deliver renewable power to a green hydrogen production facility at the Flotta Terminal; understands that the plans to power the proposed Flotta Hydrogen Hub are being developed by OWPL in partnership with Flotta Terminal’s owner Repsol Sinopec, and Uniper, a leading international energy company and pioneer in the field of hydrogen; recognises that Orkney is at the forefront of renewable energy and low-emission innovation and is a global centre of excellence for research and demonstration of how the hydrogen economy of the future will work, with creative hydrogen solutions already being tested in the context of the island's transport network; believes that these plans would help to meet the demand for hydrogen both nationally and internationally, and would make an enormous contribution to meeting the climate emergency targets; acknowledges that these plans would also provide an excellent opportunity to deliver a just transition from current conventional oil and gas production to clean hydrogen over a period of time, utilising a skilled Orkney workforce, and commends the OWPL consortium and its partners for their bold ambition, and for ensuring that the Orkney Islands are at the heart of green hydrogen production.