So could this tiny street in a Fife town really solve the world’s energy crisis?

• Former coalmining town of Buckhaven a test-bed for new hydrogen technology 

Given the disappearance, decades ago, of its fishing and mining, Buckhaven is perhaps not somewhere you would expect to find a sparkling and innovative vision of the future.

But beside a once bustling harbour, on the site of what was one of Scotland’s largest collieries, the technology of tomorrow is taking shape: an army of workmen are laying pipes; gleaming equipment is being fitted; vast metal ­cylinders stand in pride of place.

For the Fife town is taking part in a pilot project which, without any trace of hyperbole, could potentially solve one of the greatest ­problems facing mankind.

An area of Buckhaven is to become a test-bed for new technology which – if it works – could end the global energy crisis. How? By ­producing limitless, pollution-free power – from nothing more than wind and rain.

It may seem a bold promise. But, as locals are quick to point out, there is definitely no shortage of wind and rain.

Amid growing fears over climate change,

scientists are working to find alternatives to coal, oil and natural gas.

This year, in a world-first, a cluster of streets in Buckhaven will trial a revolutionary heating system based not on fossil fuels, but on ‘green’ hydrogen. 

Around 300 homes have signed up for a £32 million demonstration project called H100 Fife.

Householders won’t notice much difference because, apart from hydrogen hobs burning with an orange flame, not blue, the boilers and cookers installed in their homes will look like standard kitchen fittings.

Overall, however, the trial could transform energy policy in Britain and internationally.

In the town, the build-up is unmissable. Yellow signs decorate lamp-posts, announcing ‘the first hydrogen-to-homes zero-carbon network anywhere in the world… and it all starts here.’

One resident said: ‘It’s normally quite quiet in this area. But there’s a lot of activity going on around the hydrogen scheme at the moment. I think people are genuinely happy Buckhaven is being used to test new technology. It’s exciting that we’re helping the world produce green power. Especially power that comes from wind and rain. We have plenty of wind and rain.’

For such a groundbreaking scheme, the theory behind hydrogen heating can be grasped by ­anyone with even a hazy memory of school chemistry. 

And to make it even easier, the ­apparatus of the project is on public display, ­visible to anyone walking along the street.

Most obvious is the 350ft wind turbine – a landmark on the Fife coast for more than a decade. 

Previously used to explore the potential of wind power, it will now generate renewable energy for the hydrogen scheme.

Whenever the wind blows, the turbine’s blades will power an electrolyser – using electricity to split water into its constituent elements: oxygen and hydrogen. A steel warehouse for the ­bungalow-sized machine is under construction beside the turbine.

Another key part was installed last month: four cylindrical tanks – each 15ft high, 40ft long and weighing 73 tons – which will store the hydrogen produced in the electrolyser.

Two more tanks will arrive shortly, creating enough capacity to ensure the scheme doesn’t run out of gas, even during the coldest weather.

Meanwhile teams of workmen are busily ­digging up the roads, laying five miles of pipes to carry gas to the trial homes.

Three show-homes have also been built nearby to demonstrate hydrogen in a domestic setting.

Finally, every property will be fitted with hydrogen-ready appliances – boilers, hobs, cookers and living room fires. 

Although it seems a lot of effort just to upgrade the heating, the key environmental point is that using hydrogen as fuel, unlike traditional natural gas, doesn’t produce harmful carbon emissions.

Instead, the by-product of burning hydrogen is a chemical called dihydrogen monoxide – more commonly known as water. 

The grand aim of H100 Fife is not to demonstrate the viability of hydrogen as a fuel – it is already used in transport and industry –but rather how the gas can be generated using sustainable wind power.

The other aim is to test public acceptance. Will people be happy to have hydrogen heating in their homes?

For, as anyone who paid attention in chemistry will remember, hydrogen – in the wrong circumstances – can be massively explosive. 

To this day, mention of hydrogen still evokes the 1937 tragedy of the Hindenburg, the zeppelin whose gas-filled balloon turned into a terrifying fireball while carrying passengers above New Jersey, with the loss of 35 lives.

Hollywood hasn’t helped hydrogen’s image either, with many films, including the recent Glass Onion starring Daniel Craig, using the gas as a fiendish plot-device to blow things up.

It’s a point that hasn’t gone unnoticed in Buckhaven.

One resident said: ‘When I first heard about it, I thought, “Hang on, isn’t hydrogen the most dangerous gas in the universe?” But they’ve done a good job of explaining the safety measures – and reassuring people it’s really no different from the current gas network.’

H100 Fife – funded by the UK energy ­regulator Ofgem, power companies and the Scottish Government – is being run by gas distributor SGN, which is at great pains to stress the abundant research showing the safety of hydrogen for domestic use and also the comprehensive system of safety measures including ventilation, cut-offs and pressure valves.

The two-year trial will be used by the UK Government to decide whether green hydrogen could be expanded.

For Buckhaven, the new technology marks a significant departure from the industries of the past. The town was once a thriving port, which in the mid-19th century had Scotland’s ­second-largest fishing fleet.

From the 1860s to the 1960s, it was also home to the Wellesley colliery, one of the country’s largest.

Households taking part in the trial will receive £1,000 in instalments, plus appliances provided, fitted and serviced free of charge.

On its website SGN trumpets the transformative potential of H100, stating: ‘This project is unique. It aims to be world’s first fully-operational 100 per cent green hydrogen network.

‘Proving the case for hydrogen may well be a game-changer in how we build a carbon-free economy.’

Waseem Hanif, spokesman for SGN, said: ‘We’re proud to be delivering the world’s first green hydrogen gas network in Fife and leading the way in decarbonising home heating. The project is providing critical evidence for the UK Government which could shape the way we heat our homes in the future alongside other renewable technologies.

‘Hydrogen can be used to heat homes and cook food in the same way as we do now with natural gas. Crucially, hydrogen doesn’t produce any carbon when it burns and can be created using wind power, as we are doing in Fife.

‘We’re delighted to have received overwhelming support from the local community and the residents who have chosen to take part in this groundbreaking project.’