Renewable, stored energy facility under consideration

Ayrshire may be the site for the UK's first power plant to combine both renewable and stored energy, if planning permission is granted.

A planning permission request has been lodged with a view to constructing a £20 million commercial hydrogen balancing plant in Kilbirnie, North Ayrshire.

The facility - part of the Ladymoor Renewable Energy Project and designed by WHL Energy - will be able to provide a constant supply of power through the use of advanced technology that combines wind power and fuel cell storage, the Times reports.

It would work by separating hydrogen from water at points of low power demand, which would then be stored in fuel cells and used when wind levels are minimal.

As well as providing power for properties, the system could be used to fuel vehicles.

Steven Radford UK operations managing director at WHL said: "The potential of wind-hydrogen balancing is enormous. It is a double win - you create a system which can react to demand, which wind alone can't, and you create vehicular fuel."

Meanwhile, the world's first floating wind turbine is to be tested off the coast of southern Italy by British company Blue H, the Guardian reports.