Whether it is utilities generating the electricity that powers homes and businesses around the globe, or more localized power facilities providing generation for industrial processing plants, such as oil cracking or chemical manufacturing, modern power generation is far less predictable than it was just five or ten years ago. Renewables are hot at the moment, with generators installing solar and wind assets at a breakneck pace; however, those systems are dynamic—when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow, they aren’t generating power.
The dynamic nature of renewables means that traditional thermal generation will still be around for a long time. Yet thermal generation cannot simply be switched on and off at will to close the gap when renewables underproduce, so power production companies are looking for a third option; something to close the gap.
In his recent article in H2Tech, Emerson’s James Fraser suggests that hydrogen (H2) might just be the technology that meets such a need. For teams that have the right technology in place, H2 has the potential to provide significant flexibility in generation, allowing teams to make the most of all their assets.
Using excess energy
If an organization has both renewables and traditional thermal generation, they have a lot of decisions to make. Sometimes it will be most cost effective to run the renewable assets, and other times it will make the most sense to run off traditional fossil-fuel generation. However, transitioning back and forth has consequences. James explains,
“Any of those situations can result in an excess of renewable energy. If the plant is using fossil fuel generation or buying from the grid, any renewable energy generated will need to go somewhere. Or, if the plant is using its renewable energy for production, on the best days it might still be generating more power than it needs. And while the plant could potentially stop its renewable energy production when the power is not in use, such a solution will dramatically extend the timeline for return on investment. As a result, teams are hesitant to simply shut down renewable generation systems.”
Shutting down traditional generation systems isn’t a great solution either. Bringing turbines back online is complex and time consuming. But what if there were a third option? One that empowers generators to keep their assets running and turn excess energy into something profitable? James presents just such an option,
“Many plants are exploring ways that H2 generation can help them navigate this complexity. These organizations are investigating the construction of electrolysis facilities to provide more options for what to do with their generated power. When plants with H2 facilities have excess energy from generation, they have far more options. If the market is right, they can still sell the electricity to the grid. If not, they can divert it to create H2, which they can sell directly or convert to ammonia, which can also be transported and sold. Under the right conditions, some plants can even store H2 for later use or resale.”
The right tools for the job
Building out an H2 operation is not an overnight process. It takes planning and the right software to make it work. Teams bringing H2 into their operations will need comprehensive, integrated software controls, such as those available in the Ovation Green SCADA solution. Ovation Green SCADA can aggregate critical information from all an organization’s green energy sources and provide visibility of all assets across the fleet. With centralized management, the team can better control assets and production, and make accurate, profitable business decisions.
James goes into much more detail in the complete article, even diving into how the most forward-thinking teams are using distributed energy resource management to manage environmental, demand, and market factors across their entire virtual grid. He offers lots of valuable insights for anyone looking for better control of their energy output.
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