Experimental 'Wind to Hydrogen'
System Up and Running
Dec 14, 2006 Wind Energy Weekly
Xcel Energy (NYSE:XEL) and the U.S. Department of
Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory today
unveiled a unique facility that uses electricity
from wind turbines to produce and store pure hydrogen,
offering what may become an important new template
for future energy production.
Several dozen journalists, environmental leaders,
government officials and Xcel Energy managers today
toured the joint venture, which is located at NREL’s
National Wind Technology Center between Golden and
Boulder, Colo. “Today we begin using our cleanest
source of electricity – wind power – to create the
perfect fuel: hydrogen,” said Richard C. Kelly,
Xcel Energy chairman, president and CEO. “Converting
wind energy to hydrogen means that it doesn’t matter
when the wind blows since its energy can be stored
on-site in the form of hydrogen.”
The facility links two wind turbines to devices
called electrolyzers, which pass the wind-generated
electricity through water to split the liquid into
hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen can be stored
and used later to generate electricity from either
an internal combustion engine turning a generator
or from a fuel cell. In either case, there are no
harmful emissions, and the only by-product from
using the hydrogen fuel is water. On site is a new
building that houses the electrolyzers and a device
to compress the hydrogen for storage; four large,
high-tech tanks to store the hydrogen; a generator
run by an engine that burns hydrogen; and a control
room building, where computers monitor all the steps
of the process.
Xcel Energy and NREL are each paying part of the
$2 million budget for the two-year project. “The
project allows our researchers to compare different
types of electrolyzers and work on increasing the
efficiency of a wind-to-hydrogen system,” said Dan
Arvizu, NREL director. “And, it has the potential
to point the way to a completely emissions-free
system of making, storing and using energy.”
Currently, there are limitations to both wind power
and hydrogen. Wind farms only generate electricity
when the wind is blowing, which is about one-third
of the time in the United States. This creates the
need for backup generation, which is usually fossil-fueled.
Hydrogen, while the most common element in the universe,
isn’t found in its pure form on Earth and must be
either electrolyzed from water, or stripped out
of natural gas, which are energy-intensive processes
that result in greenhouse gas emissions. “By marrying
wind turbines to hydrogen production, we create
a synergy that systematically reduces the drawbacks
of each,” Kelly said. “Intermittent wind power is
converted to a stored fuel that can be used anytime,
while at the same time offering a totally climate-friendly
way to retrieve hydrogen, to power our homes and
possibly cars in the future.”
NREL and Xcel Energy expect to offer a public update
on the operation of the project around the middle
of 2007. Results will also be shared with the Hydrogen
Utility Group, made up of Xcel Energy and nine other
utility companies interested in hydrogen’s future
role in the utility industry. “Advancing knowledge
and sharing innovation are among NREL's primary
goals,” Arvizu said. “Our growing strategic partnership
with Xcel Energy – especially on this project –
helps us reduce the time and effort between research
discoveries and sharing the benefits of what we
learn with energy consumers.”
For further information contact NREL Public Relations
at (303) 275-4090.