Baird Gas Storage Application Submitted to North Norfolk District Council
Proposals for a new offshore gas storage facility to be developed by Centrica Storage and Perenco UK (the companies behind a new joint company called Bacton Storage Company Limited (BSCL)), have been submitted to North Norfolk District Council (NNDC).
BSCL is proposing to store natural gas in an existing offshore reservoir, named Baird, 86km from the North Norfolk coastline. During times of low demand, gas will be pumped offshore from the National Transmission System via new facilities to be installed within the Perenco UK Terminal in Bacton.
Whilst the proposed development is significant, in terms of its positive impact for securing essential gas supplies and keeping gas prices as low as possible, BSCL has given a clear commitment to keep the construction and development impact to a minimum.
BSCL plans to install a new offshore facility that will be linked to new buildings and equipment within the existing Perenco UK site by a new pipeline. Where the pipeline reaches the shore it will require temporary work on the beach near the base of the cliff close to the existing beach access road. The majority of the onshore construction works will be within the Perenco terminal and are mostly related with the connection of the pipeline and the installation of a new compressor station and associated utilities.
A two-day exhibition was held at Bacton Village Hall on 20 and 21 November with around 40 residents attending to view the plans. Comments were generally positive and any feedback was considered and, where possible, acted upon before the planning application was submitted to NNDC.
NNDC has indicated that following registration and the statutory consultation period, it expects the application to be considered by the council’s planning committee in June 2010. If granted permission to proceed, the development will take around three years to complete.
This project supports the UK’s need for gas storage to maintain security of supply. Both Government and the Opposition recognise the importance of gas to everyday lives in the provision of heat and power and consequently support the development of additional gas storage.
Gas storage reduces the risk of interruption to customers. Reductions in gas supply and an inflexible reliance on imported gas could create high price spikes unless action is taken. Secure gas supplies have previously been assured from the continental shelf, however, these have been declining and in 2004 the UK became a net importer of gas. At present around half of the UK gas requirement is imported and this is predicted, by the government, to rise to 80 percent by 2020.
To maintain flexibility, there is now, and will increasingly be, a need for more gas storage. This was underlined during the recent bad weather which saw some large interruptible supplies being disconnected.
Around 83 percent of the UK population live in homes heated by natural gas. Around 42 percent of electricity generated is fuelled by gas. The UK is one of the largest gas consumers in Europe.
Existing gas storage facilities provide only 4.5 per cent (17 days) of the UK annual gas consumption compared to an average of over 16 percent in the rest of Europe.
Once completed the Baird Project will add around one third to the UK’s existing gas storage capacity.