Chelveston energy park aims to power 100 lorries a day with hydrogen

A renewable energy park is hoping a new solar power project will eventually create enough hydrogen to power 100 lorries every day.

The facility is being developed at Chelveston Renewable Energy Park in Northamptonshire.

The 750-acre (304 hectares) site is already one of the largest combined renewables parks in the UK.

Simon Toseland, from the park, said it would produce one tonne of hydrogen a day in the future.

The former RAF base, acquired as a green energy innovation base 15 years ago, currently has the capacity to produce 30MW of wind energy and 60MW of solar energy, enough to power 15,000 homes.

Hydrogen is one of the cleanest energies available, but its production traditionally involves using energy from fossil fuels.

Mr Toseland said the aim was to develop enough solar energy over the next three years to allow hydrogen to be used more widely.

The park is also in the process of developing an innovation park, which will serve high energy users, such as high-end manufacturers, and is working on a project to use battery storage to combat issues around renewable energy sources not being constantly available.

Mr Toseland said: "The sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow, so if you are supplying energy to a consumer you have to be able to provide that energy as a constant."

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