Source: Energy & Management Powernews, March 11, 2022
To have to shut down renewable plants less often and at the same time reduce grid expansion costs, a study recommends decentralized electrolysers with a capacity of 5,000 MW.
"We advocate including decentralized electrolysers in the national hydrogen strategy," said Marcel Keiffenheim, head of policy and communications Green Planet Energy, at a virtual press conference on March 11. This is because such decentralized electrolysers would improve the energy yield from wind and solar plants, make the energy system more resilient and would save grid expansion costs.
This is shown by a new study "Grid-serving hydrogen production" by the Reiner Lemoine Institute (RLI) on behalf of the eco-energy cooperative Green Planet Energy (formerly Greenpeace Energy), which was presented on March 10. According to the results of this study, electrolysers with a peak output of up to 5 MW are particularly suitable for grid-serving operation. "Such electrolysers can respond flexibly to the fluctuating supply of wind and solar power and control signals from distribution grid operators. In this way, they make an important contribution to grid stability and security of supply. The energy system thus becomes more efficient, resilient and cost-effective," explained RLI Managing Director Kathrin Goldammer.
Up to 13.7 billion kWh of green hydrogen per year possible
As Goldammer explained at the conference, depending on the expansion of renewable energies, grid-serving small electrolysers could produce a total of up to 13.7 billion kWh of green hydrogen per year. That's about half of the German government's planned domestic green hydrogen production volumes for 2030, he said. "They can be operated in areas with a high share of renewable energy and local surpluses of wind and solar power in a grid-serving and economical way," she added. The study has identified areas that could be considered for this.
"The new study shows that these can strengthen our future renewable energy system. However, parliament and the federal government must now also create the appropriate legal framework for this," Keiffenheim said. Therefore, the German government should now set the course for the installation of 5,000 MW of grid-serving electrolysers by 2030.
Keiffenheim: "Therefore, these expansion targets should be set in the hydrogen strategy." In addition, the network operators should develop suitable locations and the Federal Network Agency should then present a map that also shows the suitable locations for such electrolysers.
Even if, according to studies, such decentralized plants could be operated economically at suitable locations, "we recommend start-up funding," Keiffenheim continued. And at most for the first 3,000 MW. These should be awarded via a call for tenders. According to Green Planet Energy, a temporary subsidy via so-called Contracts for Difference (CfDs) should spur a rapid installation of grid-serving electrolysers. CfDs could compensate for the price difference between gray and green hydrogen for a transitional period.
Further electrolysers would then be market-driven, Keiffenheim said. In his view, the expansion of decentralized electrolysers will be driven primarily by small and medium-sized, locally based companies and municipal utilities. "Because currently, however, various risks still inhibit the desirable ramp-up, we consider a limited start-up support to be sensible."
The 64-page study "Netzdienliche Wasserstofferzeugung" is available for download as a PDF on the website of Green Planet Energy eG.
Author: Heidi Roider
Accessibility
Language