168 R. M. URIU
Hydrogen’s Role in Facilitating the Use of Renewable Energy. Industrial
policy for the final pieces of the hydrogen puzzle, storage and the green
hydrogen supply chain, is still at the stage of supporting basic research
and product development. As a result, much of the work being done is
not yet in the public eye; like other cases of industrial policy, results are
often not visible until years or even decades later. The dilemma in this
case is that we are running out of time, so there is a great deal of pressure
on policymakers and the industry to show results now.
Perhaps the most compelling potential role for hydrogen is as an
energy storage medium, a missing link that is holding back the more
widespread adoption of renewable energy. As a stable energy carrier,
hydrogen can help to ease the problem of “intermittency” that is often
cited by electric utilities as a reason that they cannot shift entirely to
renewable resources. Utilities have argued that relying on renewables
makes it more difficult to maintain the delicate balance between energy
put into the system and energy taken out by users. If the utilities rely too
much on intermittent sources such as solar and wind, they worry about
periods of plunging electricity supply as well as periods of excess production. Utilities can continue to use their natural gas “peaker plants” to cope
with supply imbalances, but this “ramping up” is expensive. Hence, many
utilities have resisted the widespread introduction of renewable sources.
During periods where there is an excess of electricity from renewable
sources, utilities must figure out what to do with it. Some utilities have
been able to transfer the excess to neighboring power utilities, but this can
be expensive and inefficient. Utilities have also been experimenting with
smart grids, smart meters, and other technologies that are able to make
matching production and usage more efficient. While helpful, these solutions have not been enough. Because allowing too much electricity into
the grid would be destabilizing, utilities often end up simply throwing
their excess electricity away, a process known as curtailment.
The problem of intermittency is also a seasonal one. It is easy to
imagine a country that has limited access to sunlight during the winter
months. Even if this country had abundant solar capacity and can create
excess energy during the summer months, without an effective way of
storing that energy, it would still need to rely on non-renewable resources
in other months. As one example, the IEA notes that “solar generation
in Europe is about 60% lower in winter than in summer,” while demand
in winter is about 40% higher (IEA Hydrogen 2017).
Hydrogen’s Role in Facilitating the Use of Renewable Energy. Industrial
policy for the final pieces of the hydrogen puzzle, storage and the green
hydrogen supply chain, is still at the stage of supporting basic research
and product development. As a result, much of the work being done is
not yet in the public eye; like other cases of industrial policy, results are
often not visible until years or even decades later. The dilemma in this
case is that we are running out of time, so there is a great deal of pressure
on policymakers and the industry to show results now.
Perhaps the most compelling potential role for hydrogen is as an
energy storage medium, a missing link that is holding back the more
widespread adoption of renewable energy. As a stable energy carrier,
hydrogen can help to ease the problem of “intermittency” that is often
cited by electric utilities as a reason that they cannot shift entirely to
renewable resources. Utilities have argued that relying on renewables
makes it more difficult to maintain the delicate balance between energy
put into the system and energy taken out by users. If the utilities rely too
much on intermittent sources such as solar and wind, they worry about
periods of plunging electricity supply as well as periods of excess production. Utilities can continue to use their natural gas “peaker plants” to cope
with supply imbalances, but this “ramping up” is expensive. Hence, many
utilities have resisted the widespread introduction of renewable sources.
During periods where there is an excess of electricity from renewable
sources, utilities must figure out what to do with it. Some utilities have
been able to transfer the excess to neighboring power utilities, but this can
be expensive and inefficient. Utilities have also been experimenting with
smart grids, smart meters, and other technologies that are able to make
matching production and usage more efficient. While helpful, these solutions have not been enough. Because allowing too much electricity into
the grid would be destabilizing, utilities often end up simply throwing
their excess electricity away, a process known as curtailment.
The problem of intermittency is also a seasonal one. It is easy to
imagine a country that has limited access to sunlight during the winter
months. Even if this country had abundant solar capacity and can create
excess energy during the summer months, without an effective way of
storing that energy, it would still need to rely on non-renewable resources
in other months. As one example, the IEA notes that “solar generation
in Europe is about 60% lower in winter than in summer,” while demand
in winter is about 40% higher (IEA Hydrogen 2017).