Masterplanning Hydroville: A Hydrogen Fueled City in West Copeland.
Cumbria, despite being one of the least population dense counties has always been the pioneer in the country’s development. Whether it is to manufacture TNTs during the war, the first Nuclear Power Plant in the world or the first Nuclear Submarine in the country, now remains a place with decommissioning as its primary industrial activity. This is when the nation faces an energy crisis, political turmoil, economic instability, all this while the tax payer has to pay massive energy bills. During its prime, Cumbria was an energy hub which supplied a vast amount of electricity to the national power grid from its Calder Hall Plant. In the 21st century Science and Technology has taken huge leaps in developing Nuclear and Hydrogen Technology for Energy generation in a highly safe, secure and efficient way. Amidst the Russia – Ukraine War the government has rolled out plans for 8 New Nuclear Plants, doubling Hydrogen Generation up to 10GW by 2030 and other supporting policies like Levelling Up, Northern Powerhouse, and HyNet among others.
With so much happening and so much awaited, the question is, how can Cumbria contribute towards decarbonization and winning the race to net zero while producing energy with safety, security and efficiency. And how would Cumbria accommodate the regenerative changes that an Energy generation plant brings through gentrification?
Reflecting on current Energy policies and Cumbria's nuclear history and heritage, a Masterplanning project housing a Green Hydrogen Generation Plant has been proposed at Moorside, north of Sellafield. This Hydrogen Plant will support a thousand permanent skilled jobs which will cause a mass gentrification. A sustainably designed Employee Housing will act as a catalyst to populate this Hydrogen powere city, named Hydroville.
