SLR Consulting asserts that the success of large-scale green hydrogen developments is dependent on early, integrated collaboration between engineers, environmental specialists and financiers to manage cumulative impacts, optimise design decisions and reduce downstream cost and compliance risks.

The company notes that highly complex, systems-based projects integrate renewable generation, transmission, desalination, hydrogen production, ammonia processing and export infrastructure across vast distances, creating significant technical, environmental and regulatory risk.

According to SLR Consulting power sector lead: Middle East and Africa Stuart Heather-Clark, a large-scale green hydrogen development differs fundamentally from a standalone wind or solar project.

“A typical green ammonia export scheme, for instance, is a complex chain of interdependent infrastructure, with elements that can stretch across 300 km to 500 km,” he explains. “Each element carries its own technical, environmental and social risk profile which must be managed by specialists across multiple disciplines working in close collaboration.”

He notes that some proposed schemes involve renewable energy capacities at a scale not yet realised elsewhere in the world. Once projects move into the 5 GW to 7 GW range, they exceed the benchmark of most existing wind or solar installations.

“Scale alone multiplies risk,” he says, “as land take expands dramatically, transmission distances increase and cumulative impacts become more difficult to predict and manage.”

Wind farm designers, transmission line engineers, electrolyser specialists and ammonia process engineers need to align their respective approaches. In addition, port designers, marine engineers and desalination experts introduce further technical assumptions and constraints.

“Environmental consultants cannot operate independently of these engineering teams,” he emphasises. “Infrastructure footprints may be determined by engineering logic - such as proximity to substations or optimal wind regimes - but without early interrogation, those decisions can inadvertently embed environmental and social risk.”

A technically ideal flat site near a grid connection for a solar installation may support subsistence farming, contain cultural heritage resources, wetlands or key biodiversity features. Transmission corridors may intersect bird migration routes while coastal intake structures can affect sensitive marine ecosystems.

“Green hydrogen projects operate simultaneously across multiple ecological domains,” he notes. “A single development can involve terrestrial biodiversity - birds, bats and vegetation - alongside freshwater systems and marine ecology while also introducing air emissions, noise impacts and industrial safety risks. The consequence is that green hydrogen developments cannot be managed as linear projects,” he says. “They are systems projects where decisions in one subsystem ripple through others.”

Heather-Clark stresses that the solution lies in early, integrated engagement. By thoroughly interrogating infrastructure footprints before designs are finalised, teams can avoid, minimise, restore and offset risks more effectively.

“This proactive approach enables greater front-end loading,” he concludes, “reducing the risk of appeals, redesigns and lender non-compliance later in the project lifecycle.”