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.

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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

New Partnership Explores Development of Hydrogen Network in Åland Finland