Assessment of Hydrogen as a Means to Implement the United States Navy's Renewable Energy Initiative.

摘要

In response to Presidential Executive Order 13514, the Secretary of the Navy established the 1GW Task Force to meet the Navy's goal of producing at least half of shore-based energy requirements from alternative energy sources. In this thesis, the question is investigated whether renewably produced hydrogen can contribute to the accomplishment of this goal. It is known that ocean wind energy has yet to be fully exploited as a renewable energy source. It is therefore proposed to use sailing ships equipped with hydroturbines and electrolysers to convert this ocean wind energy into storable energy in the form of hydrogen. The hydrogen is then compressed and transported to nearby naval facilities. The technical and economic aspects of this energy-ship concept are analyzed by estimating the drag of the sailing ships, sail lift, and the power requirements of the desalinator, electrolyser, and hydrogen compressor. A previous study of the power requirements of the 76 inhabitants of Grimsey Island, near Iceland, is used to compare the energy-ship power production method with wind turbine based hydrogen production. It is found that 13 Catalina 36 sized, autonomously operating, sailboats can provide the Grimsey Island power at an economically competitive cost with the previously proposed wind-hydrogen method.