South Australia continues to push forward towards their green energy goals. The biggest hydrogen power plant in the world is set to open near Whyalla, which is ten times bigger than any existing hydrogen power station.
The hydrogen power plant will also have a 250-megawatt electrolysis facility that will run excess green energy. This will allow for the production of huge amounts of hydrogen, which will then be stored on-site.
South Australian state government takes a huge leap
No businesses are willing to take the lead on this project, which is why the state government has stepped up and will fund AU$600 million.
The hydrogen plant will absorb excess renewable energy from the grid and run it through the electrolysis facility. When the renewable energy drops off at night or in the winter, it will run the hydrogen back through a 200-MW generator facility that will put energy back into the grid.
The project will kickstart a wider hydrogen scene in the state. It can supply excess hydrogen to companies, such as in manufacturing, transport, and more.
Hydrogen power station to be fully operational in 2025
Proposals for the project are due next month; it is then expected to be operational in approximately two years.
The hydrogen power plant aims to balance the supply and demand in the grid. Currently, 69 per cent of residents in SA source their energy from solar and wind energy and, by 2030, it is expected that SA will fully generate 100 per cent of their energy from renewables.
The state generates more solar power than it can absorb, and it came to a point where the government had to ask consumers to turn on as many appliances as possible to avoid an overload of electricity.
Sam Crafter, the CEO of the Office of Hydrogen Power South Australia, “It will be… the launching pad to get to those larger scale projects that the industry is rushing towards.”
Frontier Economics has offered some modelling for the potential operation of the hydrogen power plant. “There is no opportunity to arbitrage spot prices if the electrolyzer and hydrogen turbine operate at the same time,” according to Frontier Economics.
With hydrogen, you only need a bigger tank to store energy that can power homes and industries consistently. As hydrogen technology develops, going solar is an even more feasible option for a growing number of Australians. With rising electricity costs, solar power is the way to go.
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Doubts surrounding the project
Despite the ambitious plan, there are still doubts surrounding the project. It can be recalled that the same thing happened when the government worked with Tesla and Neoen to build the biggest grid-level big battery plant in the world in 2017.
According to Crafter, “I think everyone was skeptical… I mean, everyone,” he said.
Still, the project is an excellent solution due to the expected percentage of South Australians who will get their energy from renewable sources soon.
“So what we need is more dispatchable power. The government has a history here in South Australia of looking to be a leader in technology development in the renewable space,” said Crafter.
He continued, “We did that, obviously, with the storage projects that we’ve done in the past around the big battery that Neoen and Tesla built here.”
Energy Matters has over 17 years of experience in the solar industry and has helped over 40,000 Australian households in their journey to energy independence.
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