WIND-TO-HYDROGEN PILOT PROJECT

摘要

Among the most pressing issues in the world economy is the cost and security of transportation fuel. The economic risks and impacts of increasing reliance on a small number of oil suppliers is further compounded by the environmental impacts resulting from the extraction, processing and consumption of oil. In response, the general consensus of many long range planners projects that a major component of future energy supply needs, particularly for transportation, will be met by hydrogen. As an energy “carrier”, rather than an energy “fuel”, significant amounts of energy are required to produce the hydrogen necessary to fuel the future economy. One of the more promising sources of energy for this purpose is wind. The presentation to the 2007 AWEA Annual Meeting reports on the initial results and purposes of a wind-to-hydrogen project, located in the wind-rich region of North Dakota. This project is designed to research and develop the technology and economics to address both the intermittency and transmission issues. A key component of this research is the development of dynamic scheduling to “tie” regional wind projects to centrally located electrolyzers. This project provides an alternative path to national energy self-sufficiency, using the vast wind resources of the US and is expected to be in full operation by Summer of 2007. The intent of this paper is to provide an overview of the project's development, research, economics, efficiencies, lessons learned, feasibility and potential paths to a hydrogen economy.