An example of a Irish small community seeking to produce hydrogen for their own use is Valentia island off the coast of County Kerry. Valentia Island SEC (which aims to establish an energy co-op in the coming months) have recently completed their ambitious SEC Energy Masterplan. The production of hydrogen is detailed as a key strategic objective through which they aim to achieve energy sustainability.
The next step for the proposed co-operative will be to complete a feasibility study, which will be undertaken by Energy Co-operatives Ireland in early 2019. The development of GenComm’s Decision Support Tool (DST ) will be very timely for this project, and will be of significant benefit in making hydrogen production a reality for this small, remote community, which nonetheless has a history of innovation and technological firsts.