It will be the UK's biggest such unit to date and able to produce up to 8 tonnes of hydrogen per day, roughly equivalent to fuelling over 550 buses to travel from Glasgow to Edinburgh and back again each day, ScottishPower said.

Located close to the Whitelee onshore wind farm on the outskirts of Glasgow, the application also covered a combined solar and battery energy storage scheme, with up to 40 MW and 50 MW capacity respectively, to help power the unit.

Green hydrogen is produced by splitting water molecules with a current of renewable electricity and it is touted as a clean replacement for fossil fuels in industries that are otherwise hard to decarbonise.

ScottishPower expects a decision on the planning application in autumn 2021, with the project aiming to supply hydrogen to the commercial market before 2023, it said.

The facility could support Glasgow City Council as well as surrounding local authorities and industries in their ambitions to create a zero emissions vehicle fleet, using only electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles by the end of 2029, it added.

Britain has a target to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and will host hosting this year's climate talks, COP 26, in Glasgow.

(Reporting by Nora Buli; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)