Grant agreed for first Dorset hydrogen fuel plant

Canford Renewable Energy plans to expand its existing operation at the former landfill site

Plans for Dorset's first hydrogen fuel processer have moved a step closer after a council agreed a £1.5m grant to build the facility.

Canford Renewable Energy wants to expand its operations at a former landfill site at Canford Resource Park.

Its proposal includes the installation of an adjoining solar park to power the facility.

The grant from Low Carbon Dorset would contribute to total project costs of just under £6m.

If approved, the development would be permitted to remain on the green belt site for 40 years.

The planning application for the site, submitted in March, covers more than 11 hectares of land at the restored White's Pitt landfill site, off Magna Road, Poole.

The firm said the expanded plant would produce enough hydrogen each year to fuel the equivalent of 900,000 miles travelled by lorries.

Low Carbon Dorset is a five-year programme of activities, funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Administered by Dorset Council, it is intended to stimulate growth in the county's low carbon economy and reduce its footprint.

The grant marks the first time the programme will have made a single payment over £500,000, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

It will be paid over nine months and should be repaid to Dorset Council by the Ministry of Communities Housing and Local Government by August 2022.

Dorset councillors were told loan financing via the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership may also fund some of the project, LDRS reported.

Canford Renewable Energy is expected to start investing in the project from October.