The Department of Communities and Local Government has also given planning permission for a twin pipeline from Cheshire to the Mersey Estuary, which will enable sea water to be used to create the caverns safely.
The construction of the pipeline asset is also expected to speed up the development of other gas storage facilities in the Cheshire basin, where many of the geologically suitable areas for on shore gas storage facilities in the UK are located.
A spokesperson of King Street Energy, said: “We are delighted that this important project has been given the go-ahead. Increased gas storage capacity is urgently needed in this country and developments like ours will add to the UK’s diversity of supply and be vital to securing UK energy needs in the future. It will also allow suppliers to manage the kind of variable demand we’ve seen in recent cold weather much more effectively.”
King Street Energy claims that its initiative to build a 240 million cubic metre facility will help the UK ride out international supply disputes and pipeline reliability problems. It will also help reduce the UK’s need to import gas in the peak winter months.
