Utilities Look to Green Hydrogen to Reduce Carbon Emissions

Technology 92 Views



American utilities are increasingly finding the use of what is called green hydrogen made from wind and solar power to reduce emissions from power plants and pipelines.

Initial investment by companies including NextEra Energy Inc.

  And Dominion Energy<span> Inc.</span>


  It is expected to help commercialize an expensive technology that has been slow to develop despite its ability to provide a stable source of carbon-free power.  Utilities and policy makers are increasingly looking at technology to support ambitious renewable-energy targets.</p><div> <p>The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is spearheading a $ 1.9 billion effort to replace a coal-fired power plant in Utau, the nation's largest municipal utility, which produces natural gas and hydrogen produced from excess wind and solar power Have to walk on  The plant, which serves several small utilities and power cooperatives, has long been one of Southern California's most important power sources.





  <div data-layout="inline&#10;              " data-layout-mobile="" class="&#10;        media-object&#10;        type-InsetMediaIllustration&#10;          inline&#10;    scope-web|mobileapps&#10;  article__inset&#10;        article__inset--type-InsetMediaIllustration&#10;          article__inset--inline&#10;  ">


      <figure class="&#10;        media-object-image&#10;        enlarge-image&#10;        renoImageFormat-&#10;        img-inline&#10;        article__inset__image&#10;      " itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject"><div style="padding-bottom:66.66666666666666%;" data-mobile-ratio="66.66666666666666%" data-layout-ratio="66.66666666666666%" data-subtype="photo" class="image-container  responsive-media article__inset__image__image">
    <img srcset="https://images.wsj.net/im-229002?width=140&amp;size=1.5 140w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-229002?width=540&amp;size=1.5 540w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-229002?width=620&amp;size=1.5 620w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-229002?width=700&amp;size=1.5 700w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-229002?width=860&amp;size=1.5 860w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-229002?width=1260&amp;size=1.5 1260w" sizes="(max-width: 140px) 100px,&#10;(max-width: 540px) 500px,&#10;(max-width: 620px) 580px,&#10;(max-width: 700px) 660px,&#10;(max-width: 860px) 820px,&#10;1260px" src="https://images.wsj.net/im-229002?width=620&amp;size=1.5" data-enlarge="https://images.wsj.net/im-229002?width=1260&amp;size=1.5" alt="" title="The turbine hall control room inside the Intermountain Power Plant in Delta, Utah, will be..."/></div>


  <figcaption class="wsj-article-caption article__inset__image__caption" itemprop="caption"><h4 class="wsj-article-caption-content">The turbine hall control room inside the Intermountain Power Plant in Delta, Utah, will be replaced in the coming years.</h4>

  <div data-layout="inline&#10;              " data-layout-mobile="" class="&#10;        media-object&#10;        type-InsetMediaIllustration&#10;          inline&#10;    scope-web|mobileapps&#10;  article__inset&#10;        article__inset--type-InsetMediaIllustration&#10;          article__inset--inline&#10;  ">


      <figure class="&#10;        media-object-image&#10;        enlarge-image&#10;        renoImageFormat-&#10;        img-inline&#10;        article__inset__image&#10;      " itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject"><div style="padding-bottom:66.66666666666666%;" data-mobile-ratio="66.66666666666666%" data-layout-ratio="66.66666666666666%" data-subtype="photo" class="image-container  responsive-media article__inset__image__image">
    <img srcset="https://images.wsj.net/im-228998?width=140&amp;size=1.5 140w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-228998?width=540&amp;size=1.5 540w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-228998?width=620&amp;size=1.5 620w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-228998?width=700&amp;size=1.5 700w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-228998?width=860&amp;size=1.5 860w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-228998?width=1260&amp;size=1.5 1260w" sizes="(max-width: 140px) 100px,&#10;(max-width: 540px) 500px,&#10;(max-width: 620px) 580px,&#10;(max-width: 700px) 660px,&#10;(max-width: 860px) 820px,&#10;1260px" src="https://images.wsj.net/im-228998?width=620&amp;size=1.5" data-enlarge="https://images.wsj.net/im-228998?width=1260&amp;size=1.5" alt="" title="A detail of the control room inside the Intermountain Power Plant. "/></div>


  <figcaption class="wsj-article-caption article__inset__image__caption" itemprop="caption"><h4 class="wsj-article-caption-content">A description of the control room inside the Intermountain Power Plant. </h4>

  Gas turbines, slated for completion in 2025, will initially burn a 30% hydrogen fuel mixture.  Within two decades, they are expected to run entirely on hydrogen to comply with California law, requiring the state's power supply to be carbon-free by 2045.









  "From a cost standpoint, it does not compete with natural gas at this point," said Paul Shultes, director of external energy resources for LADPP.  But he said that the utility considers the conversion to be a long-term investment requiring legislation and regulators.




  And the price of green hydrogen is expected to become more competitive in the coming years.




  "The cost is going to go in one direction, and it's down," said Craig Wagstaff, Dominion Energy's senior vice president for Western gas distribution.  "It's just a question of how far they're going to go down."




  Hydrogen, used in a range of industries, is most often produced from coal or natural gas through carbon-emission processes.  The production of green hydrogen, on the other hand, eliminates those emissions by using renewable energy to pull hydrogen atoms from water molecules through a process called electrolysis.  Currently, only 1% of the hydrogen produced is green hydrogen.





  <div data-layout="inline&#10;              " data-layout-mobile="" class="&#10;        media-object&#10;        type-InsetMediaIllustration&#10;          inline&#10;    scope-web|mobileapps&#10;  article__inset&#10;        article__inset--type-InsetMediaIllustration&#10;          article__inset--inline&#10;  ">


      <figure class="&#10;        media-object-image&#10;        enlarge-image&#10;        renoImageFormat-&#10;        img-inline&#10;        article__inset__image&#10;      " itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject"><div style="padding-bottom:66.66666666666666%;" data-mobile-ratio="66.66666666666666%" data-layout-ratio="66.66666666666666%" data-subtype="photo" class="image-container  responsive-media article__inset__image__image">
    <img srcset="https://images.wsj.net/im-229004?width=140&amp;size=1.5 140w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-229004?width=540&amp;size=1.5 540w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-229004?width=620&amp;size=1.5 620w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-229004?width=700&amp;size=1.5 700w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-229004?width=860&amp;size=1.5 860w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-229004?width=1260&amp;size=1.5 1260w" sizes="(max-width: 140px) 100px,&#10;(max-width: 540px) 500px,&#10;(max-width: 620px) 580px,&#10;(max-width: 700px) 660px,&#10;(max-width: 860px) 820px,&#10;1260px" src="https://images.wsj.net/im-229004?width=620&amp;size=1.5" data-enlarge="https://images.wsj.net/im-229004?width=1260&amp;size=1.5" alt="" title="Coal-fired generators at the Intermountain Power Plant will be replaced with natural-gas units."/></div>


  <figcaption class="wsj-article-caption article__inset__image__caption" itemprop="caption"><h4 class="wsj-article-caption-content">The coal-fired generator at the intermountain power plant will be replaced by natural-gas units.</h4>

  A relatively small number of electrolysers were deployed globally through 2019, according to a report by research firm Wood McKenzie.  Many more are expected to be used by 2025, as companies find ways to cut emissions from electricity and gas supplies, transportation and other sectors.  .




  In June, German engineering firm Apex Energy Tetero GmbH completed a green-hydrogen plant with a two-megawatt electrolysis system located near the Baltic Sea.




  Dan Hahn said research firms lead global energy-provider practice for guidehouses, increasing green-hydrogen production partially slowed, as it typically costs three to six times more hydrogen than fossil fuels .  He expects costs to drop significantly within the next decade as production technology develops and policies are implemented that favor green hydrogen derived from fossil fuels.




  "We think that in the next two to three years also, the investment being made in the market will reduce costs," Mr. Hain said.




  Juno Beach, Fla.-based NextEra, the nation's largest owner of wind and solar farms, announced plans earlier this year to invest $ 65 million in a project to be used at Florida's natural gas plant Will use additional solar energy to produce hydrogen.  The 20 MW electrolysis system, expected to be online in 2023, will be used to replace a portion of natural gas in one of the plant's three gas turbines.





  <div data-layout="inline&#10;              " data-layout-mobile="" class="&#10;        media-object&#10;        type-InsetMediaIllustration&#10;          inline&#10;    scope-web|mobileapps&#10;  article__inset&#10;        article__inset--type-InsetMediaIllustration&#10;          article__inset--inline&#10;  ">


      <figure class="&#10;        media-object-image&#10;        enlarge-image&#10;        renoImageFormat-&#10;        img-inline&#10;        article__inset__image&#10;      " itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject"><div style="padding-bottom:66.66666666666666%;" data-mobile-ratio="66.66666666666666%" data-layout-ratio="66.66666666666666%" data-subtype="photo" class="image-container  responsive-media article__inset__image__image">
    <img srcset="https://images.wsj.net/im-228949?width=140&amp;size=1.5 140w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-228949?width=540&amp;size=1.5 540w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-228949?width=620&amp;size=1.5 620w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-228949?width=700&amp;size=1.5 700w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-228949?width=860&amp;size=1.5 860w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-228949?width=1260&amp;size=1.5 1260w" sizes="(max-width: 140px) 100px,&#10;(max-width: 540px) 500px,&#10;(max-width: 620px) 580px,&#10;(max-width: 700px) 660px,&#10;(max-width: 860px) 820px,&#10;1260px" src="https://images.wsj.net/im-228949?width=620&amp;size=1.5" data-enlarge="https://images.wsj.net/im-228949?width=1260&amp;size=1.5" alt="" title="In June, Apex Energy finished a green-hydrogen plant located near the Baltic Sea. The company’s..."/></div>


  <figcaption class="wsj-article-caption article__inset__image__caption" itemprop="caption"><h4 class="wsj-article-caption-content">In June, Apex Energy finished a green-hydrogen plant located near the Baltic Sea.  The company's manager at a hydrogen-power plant in Laage, Germany.</h4>
  <span class="wsj-article-credit article__inset__image__caption__credit" itemprop="creator">
        <span class="wsj-article-credit-tag">



          Photo: 
        </span>
    Jens Butner / DPA / Zuma Press
      </span>

  Chief Financial Officer Rebecca Kuzawa said in a recent earnings call, "We are really excited about hydrogen.  It has the ability to complete critical deployment of renewables.  NextEra explained its plans in detail.




  Dominion Energy, a Richmond, V-based company that provides electricity or natural gas to nearly seven million customers in 20 states, plans to mix methane and hydrogen into its gas-delivery system to reduce carbon emissions Has been  It aims to test the mixture at 5% of its training sites early next year, to include it more widely, and ultimately increase the percentage of hydrogen in the system.




  Ultimately, the company sees the potential for power plants and pipelines to use excess wind and solar power to produce their own hydrogen as it pushes for net-zero emissions by 2050.





  <div data-layout="bleed&#10;              " data-layout-mobile="" class="&#10;        media-object&#10;        type-InsetMediaIllustration&#10;          bleed&#10;    scope-web|mobileapps&#10;  article__inset&#10;        article__inset--type-InsetMediaIllustration&#10;          article__inset--bleed&#10;  ">


      <figure class="&#10;        media-object-image&#10;        enlarge-image&#10;        renoImageFormat-&#10;        img-bleed&#10;        article__inset__image&#10;      " itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject"><div style="padding-bottom:66.66666666666666%;" data-mobile-ratio="66.66666666666666%" data-layout-ratio="66.66666666666666%" data-subtype="photo" class="image-container  responsive-media article__inset__image__image">
    <img srcset="https://images.wsj.net/im-229009?width=140&amp;size=1.5 140w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-229009?width=540&amp;size=1.5 540w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-229009?width=620&amp;size=1.5 620w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-229009?width=700&amp;size=1.5 700w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-229009?width=860&amp;size=1.5 860w,&#10;https://images.wsj.net/im-229009?width=1260&amp;size=1.5 1260w" sizes="(max-width: 140px) 100px,&#10;(max-width: 540px) 500px,&#10;(max-width: 620px) 580px,&#10;(max-width: 700px) 660px,&#10;(max-width: 860px) 820px,&#10;1260px" src="https://images.wsj.net/im-229009?width=620&amp;size=1.5" data-enlarge="https://images.wsj.net/im-229009?width=1260&amp;size=1.5" alt="" title="The switchyard at the Intermountain Power Plant. "/></div>


  <figcaption class="wsj-article-caption article__inset__image__caption" itemprop="caption"><h4 class="wsj-article-caption-content">Switchyard at Intermountain Power Plant. </h4>

   <strong>Write </strong>Catherine Blunt at [email protected]




  </div><p style="position: absolute;z-index:-1;top:0;left:-15000px;">Copyright © 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.  All rights reserved.  87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8</p>  .

Tags

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

# Contact Us  |  Sitemap  |  News-Sitemap
© Copyright 2023- https://tech2.org