'Manipulation, misinformation and deceit' | Hydrogen heating trial dropped by government after fierce public opposition
Cadent's dream of piping H2 into homes in Whitby ends in failure; UK officials now turn to last remaining pilot scheme in Redcar
A UK village that saw furious protests over plans to test hydrogen heating in 2,000 homes has been dropped as a candidate for the government’s controversial heating trial because of a lack of “strong local support”, the UK government has confirmed.
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Lord Martin Callanan, a minister in the UK’s Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) responsible for facilitating the Hydrogen Village trial, announced yesterday evening (Monday) on Twitter that the village of Whitby, in Ellesmere Port, northwest England, is no longer in the running.
The Whitby scheme, put forward for the UK government trial by gas network operator Cadent Gas, was one of two proposals competing to win a contract to test hydrogen in 2,000 properties — the other being Northern Gas Networks’ (NGN) for Redcar, northeast England, which now appears to be the winner by default.
“After listening to the views of residents, it’s clear that there is no strong local support. Therefore Whitby will no longer be considered as the location for the UK’s first hydrogen village trial,” read Callanan’s tweet. “Discussions with NGN re: Redcar are ongoing and we’ll announce next steps shortly.”
“[DESNZ] has informed us that ours is not the preferred proposal for the Hydrogen Village trial,” a spokesperson for Cadent said in a statement. “We understand that this means that the government is likely to progress the trial in Redcar rather than in Whitby in Ellesmere Port.
“We know that this will be disappointing to the many residents who told us they wanted their community to play a pioneering role in decarbonising how we heat our homes in the UK,” the statement continued. “We are incredibly grateful to everyone in Whitby who has given us their time and attention over the last year as we have developed our proposal.”
But campaigners in Whitby were elated at the development, celebrating a “monumental achievement against all odds”.
She added: “The government, Cheshire West Council [the local authority], Cadent and [partner company, utility] British Gas have all promoted and lobbied an unethical greenwashing campaign that has manipulated, misled and deceived our community — and are now facing the consequences.
“Let's hope they all learn to listen to the public.”
A smaller, more muted protest movement has formed in Redcar as well, with a petition demanding a public debate now garnering more signatures than those answering in favour of the trial in NGN’s independent public consultation.
"This shows there is not strong local support in Redcar either," argued Peter Dunsby, who organised the petition in collaboration with Redcar's campaign team. "The Redcar trial should be scrapped or residents should, at the minimum, get the same debate and vote opportunity as happened in Whitby, Ellesmere Port."
“Hundreds of residents in Redcar are far from happy with the way NGN have been trying to force this upon us and the way they have presented false representation of the residents it affects,” added John Mudd, a resident in the trial area, in response to Callanan’s tweet yesterday. “Please don’t fall for their excuse of a report they have submitted to the government.
“Obviously the need for a proper public debate on this is paramount at this moment, and probably talk about how NGN will be hoping to avoid the kind of informed discussion that happened in Whitby,” said another Redcar resident on a local Facebook group in response to the news. “Do they think people don't share information?”
"We continue to work closely with the government on our demonstration of hydrogen for home heating," a spokesperson for NGN said. “We need to look at a range of energy sources to replace fossil fuels as part of the legal commitment to reach net zero by 2050. Hydrogen can be used in the same way as gas is now - it is right that we consider how to repurpose the extensive gas network and infrastructure that already exists so it can carry clean energy sources, while offering consumers choice.”
“The Hydrogen Village trial is vital to demonstrating Hydrogen’s potential for heating our homes,” he said on Twitter yesterday. “It’s disappointing to see that this project and Cadent Gas have been the subjects of a campaign of mistruths in Whitby, which has led to undue concern amongst Whitby residents.”