https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
    • Latest videos
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com

Public Works & Utilities


Pixabay

News

Study: Hydrogen power’s role in a green energy future

Study: Hydrogen power’s role in a green energy future

  • Written by Andy Castillo
  • 7th September 2021

With bigger wildfires than ever igniting each year in the West, increasingly strong tropical storms sweeping through the Southeast seasonally and tides ever rising in the Northeast, cities and counties across the United States are pivoting quickly toward sustainable energy systems that can mitigate the nation’s climate footprint. 

In this push toward a greener future, solar and wind energy has emerged as the most obtainable solution. Public utility providers are ramping up production to meet the demand. In the last decade, for example, solar jobs have increased by 167 percent, according to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. And this year, Martha’s Vineyard approved the nation’s first commercial scale offshore wind project. 

But while generating energy via solar and wind seems like it’s the way to go, both have an inherent problem: they are directed by nature’s clock. 

“Because these technologies churn out electrons only when the sun shines and the wind blows, they need backup from other energy sources, especially during seasons of high electric demand. Currently, plants burning fossil fuels, primarily natural gas, fill in the gaps,” reads a statement from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Energy Initiative about a hydrogen-generated electricity study published digitally last month in Applied Energy. Researchers conducted the study, which is scheduled to be published in print next month, by analyzing California’s power system. 

For now, that gap isn’t all that noticeable because most of the nation’s power grid is still driven by fossil fuels. But “As we move to more and more renewable penetration, this intermittency will make a greater impact on the electric power system,” said Emre Gençer, an MIT scientist who published the study along with fellow researcher Drake D. Hernandez.

It’s projected that grid operators will turn to fossil-fuel-based “peaker” plants to compensate for that intermittency. However, “If we’re to achieve zero-carbon electricity, we must replace all greenhouse gas-emitting sources,” Gençer said in the statement.

To that end, the MIT study— which compared the total cost of constructing and operating a facility with the amount of energy it produced over its lifetime—found that “Non-emitting variable renewable energy resources are needed on the power grid if the United States is to ‘deeply decarbonize’ the power sector,” the study’s abstract notes. Two notable low- and zero-carbon alternatives currently in development were analyzed in the study: lithium-ion batteries and hydrogen power. 

Of those, hydrogen power was found to be the most cost-effective—a surprising result for the researchers, as battery power was the favorite. When they first started looking at the data, Gençer noted he “wasn’t hopeful” about hydrogen replacing natural gas in peaker plants. “It was kind of shocking to see in our different scenarios that there was a place for hydrogen,” he said.

Notably, California was selected as the place of study because the state “draws more than 20 percent of its electricity from solar and approximately 7 percent from wind,” the statement says. “This means its peaker plants already play a pivotal role, coming online each evening when the sun goes down or when events such as heat waves drive up electricity use for days at a time.” 

But while battery power has received much focus in recent years, “Hydrogen is attracting a lot of interest as an alternative fuel for power peaking power plants,” according to a brief published by the American Public Power Association. “Several public power utilities, particularly on the West Coast, are exploring hydrogen as an alternative to natural gas.” 

Those utilities include the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the Northern California Power Agency the Douglas County PUD in East Wenatchee, Washington State, and the Nebraska Public Power District. 

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, hydrogen fuel cells produce electricity “by combining hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The hydrogen reacts with oxygen across an electrochemical cell similar to that of a battery to produce electricity, water and small amounts of heat.” Its use dates back decades, with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration among the first to use it in the 1950s for rocket engines. 

MIT’s study takes into account two different forms of hydrogen fuel production: one that converts water and electricity into hydrogen; another that reforms natural gas, “yielding hydrogen and carbon waste that can be captured to reduce emissions,” the statement says.

When comparing how much it cost to convert and operate the different types of fuel plants, Hernandez said it was analyzing costs associated with a lithium-ion battery array was straight forward. Nailing down costs for a hydrogen conversion was much harder: “You can’t do this through a literature review, so we had many conversations with equipment manufacturers and plant operators,” Hernandez said.  

For now, the price tag of converting a fossil fuel-based plant to a hydrogen powered plant is still very high. But as technology advances and if the federal government offsets costs, the implications of hydrogen power are sweeping. Beyond its potential as a supplemental energy source, the study’s findings point to hydrogen as a potentially economical sustainable energy source with many applications.

“Our research shows we need to seriously consider hydrogen in the energy transition, start thinking about key areas where hydrogen should be used, and start making the massive investments necessary,” Gençer said. 

Tags: homepage-featured-3 homepage-featured-4 Administration Public Works & Utilities Administration Public Works & Utilities News

Most Recent


  • When spending federal stimulus dollars, local governments are considering long-term, community impact
    From staffing constraints to budget shortfalls and an unprecedented pivot into the digital realm (driven by the pandemic), local governments have confronted myriad challenges over the last few years. But in this, there’s a bright spot: The federal government is investing an unprecedented amount of money into local governments. “The covid pandemic shuffled the deck […]
  • Reno, NV
    In Nevada county, data underpins efforts to address climate change
    Across the United States, cities and counties are doing their best to confront climate change in myriad ways—from bolstering seawalls to updating electrical grids and everything in between. But in order for communities to best direct their efforts and responsibly spend hard-earned taxpayer dollars, administrators need data. In Washoe County and Reno, Nev., for example, […]
  • How capital improvement project prioritization helps secure infrastructure funding
    Trillions of dollars in federal infrastructure funding have been made available to state and local governments across the U.S. since early 2020. This money has been allocated to address the nation’s aging infrastructure, much of which is at or near the end of its useful life, and to bolster the U.S. economy in the wake […]
  • Climate bill lauded; predicted to reduce nation's carbon footprint by 40% within decade
    Amid yet another punishing heat wave, the sweeping Inflation Reduction Act, which was approved along party lines Sunday by the Senate, represents a historic step in the nation’s fight against climate change by drastically reducing its climate footprint—while injecting billions of dollars into cities and counties. Along with provisions that cap prescription drug costs for […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Bring renewed purpose and civic pride to traditional municipal centers
  • Renewables surpass coal as America's second most prevalent energy source
  • Repurposing closed landfills to alleviate constrained budgets and meet sustainability goals
  • As electric vehicles become more popular, procurement initiatives make them a fiscally smart option for local governments

White papers


Modern American Perspectives on Law Enforcement

14th July 2022

Reimagine the Employee Experience

12th July 2022

How to Assemble a Rockstar Website Redesign Steering Committee

7th June 2022
view all

Events


PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

When spending federal stimulus dollars, local governments should consider long-term, community impact dlvr.it/SWXJWZ

12th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

In Nevada county, data underpins efforts to address climate change dlvr.it/SWTGHy

11th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

$52B semiconductor investment intended to rejuvenate American manufacturing dlvr.it/SWPqHQ

10th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

How capital improvement project prioritization helps secure infrastructure funding dlvr.it/SWLQB7

9th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

Climate bill lauded; predicted to reduce nation’s carbon foot print by 40% within decade dlvr.it/SWHGQL

8th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

Partnership launches no-cost wastewater monitoring service for local governments dlvr.it/SW7N74

5th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

Investing in America’s onsite wastewater treatment systems for equity and sustainability dlvr.it/SW4Mb9

4th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

With passage of PACT Act, veterans service officers are preparing for an influx in applicants dlvr.it/SW4KTg

4th August 2022

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X