The environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure plays a key role in construction of a hydrogen pipeline. Planning the hydrogen pipeline route carefully considers the views of landowners and other stakeholders.
Merja Autiola, Permit Coordinator at Gasgrid, says that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) provides an opportunity to assure various stakeholders that all obligations will be dealt with responsibly from start to finish.
“The good thing about the EIA procedure is that it gives all parties a possibility to be heard,” Autiola says.
The EIA procedure begins with careful planning. This includes planning the preliminary routing options for the hydrogen transmission pipeline with municipalities,” says Tommi Raappana, Land usage planning manager at Gasgrid.
“We review the feedback from municipalities and modify the hydrogen infrastructure route plan accordingly,” Raappana says.
Thorough groundwork
“The EIA procedure is a two-stage process,” says Merja Autiola. “The first stage sets out a plan of how the actual assessment will be carried out, what surveys and reports will be prepared as the actual report phase progresses, and what the current knowledge of the construction area is,” Autiola explains.
The authority approves this stage; in addition, this stage already allows stakeholders to provide feedback and comments.
The second stage, the report stage, includes the actual impact assessment, for which the activities described above in the programme stage are planned – such as mapping, noise modelling, landscape impact assessment and air emission calculations.
“All available information on the environment and nature in the area is brought together and compared with the impact of the pipeline construction on a thematic basis. The end result is a summary of the different types of impacts and a recommendation on the best route and impact mitigation measures to be taken into account in pipeline construction,” Autiola sums up.
Straightforward construction
Construction of the onshore hydrogen infrastructure is actually simple: dig a deep trench, lay the hydrogen pipeline at the bottom and fill the trench in. From an environmental perspective, it is important to minimise adverse impacts: for example, not felling trees unnecessarily and not moving around in mobile machinery outside of the construction sites.
“A responsible operator also restores the landscape once construction work has been completed,” Autiola adds.
The hydrogen route is preferably planned through a field because farming can continue as before once the pipeline is in the ground.
Safety distances to be defined
One important factor is the safety distance of buildings and similar structures from the pipeline itself and from valve stations and pressure reduction and compressor stations. Unlike natural gas, no safety distances have yet been defined for hydrogen.
“We’re in preliminary discussions with the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes) and it seems that safety distances will be very similar to those for natural gas;” Tommi Raappana says.
The contact authority for the EIA procedure is the ELY Centre, which will give its opinion on Gasgrid’s environmental impact assessment. The ELY Centre among other things, assesses the conditions under which the project can proceed.
“Based on the ELY centre’s opinion, we can select a specific route for further planning and do more detailed planning,” Raappana says.
The next phase will see a start made on the licensing process: water permits, expropriation permits related to land use and other necessary permits must be obtained before construction work can begin.
“Changes to the expropriation procedure are also in the pipeline. A pending amendment to the law will increase land expropriation payments by around 25%,” Raappana says.
Crossings under rivers a challenge
Autiola points out that crossings under rivers typically pose the greatest challenge to planning and implementing the hydrogen infrastructure. “Excavation work must be done to be able to lay a pipeline under a river bed and this could cause temporary turbidity.
Water turbidity is harmful, especially in small rivers and important aquatic habitats, so the technology used must be carefully considered.
“We want to take particularly good care of all water bodies,” Autiola adds.
Raappana says that groundwater areas also require special care.
“For wells, we sample the water before construction starts and again after construction if there is reason to suspect changes in water quality.”
Landowner’s voice counts
The views of landowners are listened to throughout the planning process for the hydrogen infrastructure. The aim is for every landowner to feel that their views are really taken into account,” Raappana says.
“The transmission pipeline route could also change at a landowner’s request if there are good grounds to do so,” Raappana adds.
A successful process requires seamless communication, including in the field. Before construction work starts, an initial site inspection is carried out to check the location of wells and cables on site, for example.
“A lot of practical things are worked out with the landowner, such as what happens to the installation road during construction. It is up to the landowner to decide whether to restore the area or leave the access road in place,” Raappana explains.
Working together delivers results
Autiola and Raappana say that besides landowners, also other stakeholders – from municipalities and regional councils to the Finnish Defence Forces and reindeer herding areas – have an important role to play in reaching a successful outcome.
“We strive for good dialogue with all stakeholders, since open and transparent communication will increase the acceptability of the whole project,” Autiola sums up.
Key figures on the preliminary routes of the national hydrogen transport infrastructure planned by Gasgrid:
Total length of the hydrogen infrastructure: > 1,5oo km
Number of municipalities along the route: 70
Number of properties along the route: 7,484
Number of Natura rivers along the route: 8
Landing points: 2
Groundwater areas along the route: 54
Compressor stations: 2-3
Number of crossings under large rivers: 29
Number of crossings under medium-sized rivers: 62
Number of crossings under small-sized rivers: 28
Avoided in routing
–National parks, nature conservation areas, Natura areas (excluding long river areas), conservation programme areas, important natural formations, groundwater areas, lakes
–Traditional biotypes
–Archaeological sites
–Areas challenging for construction: cliffs and rapids, rocky areas
–Urban areas, buildings, cemeteries, mines, dams, local detailed plan areas
Recommended routing
–Demand areas for the hydrogen pipeline (i.e. hydrogen production and consumption points based on market data)
–Cultivated fields, grassland, proximity to roads
–Areas with favourable soil conditions for construction