3 ms·
If electrolysis can be made cheaper (E-TAC looks promising) you can run it at a reduced duty cycle on excess solar and wind power whenever they are available.
by otherotherchris 5y ago
If electrolysis can be made cheaper (E-TAC looks promising) you can run it at a reduced duty cycle on excess solar and wind power whenever they are available.
You can also produce hydrogen at the point of generation if water is available, and store it using the now obsolete natural gas distribution network.
- ZeroGravitas 5y agoPeople need to flip this excess electricity idea. The cheapest power is solar and wind. If you build an ammonia plant, the cheapest way to get the power you need is to build solar and wind. You can sell some excess to other grid users when you have too much, and you can stop production on very short timescales to help balance the grid during peaks but overall you'll be able to predict energy production years in advance and know upfront how much it'll cost you. Those financing benefits are a strong driver of the move away from fossil fuels. This is already happening with actual plants, they build the renewables and the plant at the same time. It just makes sense. So, green hydrogen will overall be a source of cheap 'excess' renewables power on the grid, not mopping up excess from other providers.
- pfdietz 5y agoGreen hydrogen becomes a source of more dispatchable excess power on the grid. This is more valuable than just randomly available power on the grid. Those renewables powering the ammonia plant can be diverted to sell to the grid when prices there are high.
- otherotherchris 5y agoAmmonia burns fine in a diesel engine with almost no modification, just swap the fuel pumps and injectors.