Re:Renewables supplied 65% of new US utility-scale generatin...
by JumpCrisscross on Tuesday May 16, 2023 @10:38PM
(#35970652)
> can even convert existing natural gas plants to run on it
Do you have more on this? I thought hydrogen generally required special treatment given its tendency to ruin metals.
Re:Renewables supplied 65% of new US utility-scale generatin...
by _hypx on Tuesday May 16, 2023 @11:00PM
(#35970773)
It is not going to be an all-at-once transition: https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/features/gas-turbines-hydro...
We will see blended gas turbines first, with gradual shifting to 100% hydrogen. It's likely that at least some components have to be replaced in order to allow for pure hydrogen combustion.
You store excess energy in the form of hydrogen from electrolysis for that need. Rapid reductions in cost is making this inevitable. You can even convert existing natural gas plants to run on it. It is far and away the simplest and smartest solution for this problem.
IMO, this is the next intellectual showdown between people who have recognized the rapidly dropping cost of green energy technologies and its naysayers. We went through multiple years of what was basically outright denial over the cost of wind and solar. Even after they become cost-effective, certain people still denied it. Hydrogen is in the same boat. It is already at the point where it is competitive, and is only held back by people in outright denial.