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Background
Generating renewable electricity is an important way to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and many countries
are installing wind and solar power plants to help meet targets for cutting CO2. One drawback of these energy sources
is their variability: the wind tends to blow intermittently and solar power is only available during the daytime. Hence
renewable power plants either have to be over-engineered to take account of this lower capacity factor, or they
must be supported by spinning reserve power stations, typically fast-response open-cycle gas turbines – which goes
against the environmental aims of the projects.
Ideally, excess renewable energy generated during times of plenty can be stored for use during periods when
sufficient electricity is not available. But storing this energy is a difficult task: batteries and similar technologies
perform well over short timescales, but over periods of weeks or months a different approach is necessary. Energy
storage in the form of hydrogen is one such possibility: excess electricity is fed into an electrolyser to split water
into its constituent parts, oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen is then used in fuel cells to produce electricity when
needed, releasing the stored energy back to the grid.
KEY BENEFITS
This process allows excess energy produced in wind farms and
solar power plants to be stored and used, instead of wasted.
Increasing the utilisation of renewable power plants helps Hydrogen
Images: Corsica (University of Illinois); Angela Merkel lays the first stone at the Hybrid Power Plant (Bundesregierung); representation of Berlin Brandenburg airport
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MAY 2012
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