On returning from the Hannover Messe in Germany, which took place last month, it was clear that there was a new focus in the industry which had many people talking – Power-to-Gas.
As countries plant up with more and more renewable energy sources, the need for energy storage becomes key. For example, wind turbines generate intermittent power which cannot be scheduled to meet the demand on our electricity networks. Often it is windier at night, when there is significantly less demand for electricity and the current protocol is to turn the wind turbines off, or what the energy industry calls, ‘curtail the wind’.
Each time wind curtailment occurs, pay-outs must be made to the wind operators and these are into the millions of pounds already. Between October 2011 and March 2013, 224GW hours of potential energy were turned down from UK wind farms alone, receiving £7.6m for clean energy that could have been generated, but wasn’t because there is no effective storage. With ever more of our electricity coming from renewable sources, curtailment is on the rise and energy networks are facing new energy storage challenges. It is this very challenge that has led to the concept of Power-to-Gas – a principle being spearheaded in Germany.
Power-to-Gas is exactly what it says, having at its heart equipment that converts electrical power to gas. The principle allows for excess electrical power to be converted into gas and transferred into the natural gas network. The advantages are numerous, key among them being the ability to use the huge storage capacity inherent in the gas network for excess electrical energy. If you add to this the fact that the gas generated by the process is carbon free, the proposition begins to look very attractive. There is then no surprise that numerous utility companies are trialling the technology.
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