IRVINE, Calif., March 30, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern
California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced that new research on
power-to-gas technology shows the technique holds the ability to
dramatically increase the use of intermittent renewable energy. The
finding came out of ongoing research conducted at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and funded
by SoCalGas. Preliminary research findings, announced this
week at UCI's International Colloquium on Environmentally Preferred
Advanced Generation (ICEPAG), demonstrated that the campus
microgrid could increase the portion of renewable energy it uses
from 3.5 percent to 35 percent by implementing a power-to-gas
strategy. Photos of the power-to-gas equipment and the
colloquium are available here.
"This research clearly shows that power-to-gas technology can
increase the use of renewable energy and should be an important
component in meeting California's
clean energy and greenhouse gas reduction goals," said Jeff Reed, director of business strategy and
advanced technology at SoCalGas.
"The ability to increase the mix of renewables on campus by
tenfold is truly significant," said Jack
Brouwer, associate professor of mechanical & aerospace
engineering and civil & environmental engineering at UCI and
associate director of the Advanced Power & Energy Program
(APEP). "With power-to-gas technology, you don't need to stop
renewable power generation when demand is low. Instead, the excess
electricity can be used to make hydrogen that can be integrated
into existing natural gas pipeline infrastructure and stored for
later use. The Southern California Gas Company system alone is made
up of over 100,000 miles of pipeline. This study suggests that we
could leverage that installed infrastructure for storage and
significantly increase the amount of renewable power generation
deployed in California."
Power-to-gas technology takes excess renewable electricity which
would otherwise go to waste and converts it to hydrogen, which can
then be blended with natural gas and utilized in everything from
home appliances to power plants. A five percent blend of hydrogen
in SoCalGas' natural gas system would provide storage capacity
equivalent to $130 billion worth of
battery systems if purchased at the U.S. Department of Energy
future cost of $200 per kilowatt
hour. Renewable hydrogen can also be used in hydrogen fuel
cell vehicles or converted to methane for use in a natural gas
pipeline and storage system.
The conversion of renewable electricity to hydrogen enables
long-term storage of large amounts of carbon-free power.
Scientists note this is a significant advantage over lithium ion
batteries, which store energy for shorter time periods and will
require extensive construction of battery systems and
infrastructure.
The new finding comes from a pilot project begun with funding
from SoCalGas and the participation of Proton OnSite, which
manufactured the electrolyzer that produces hydrogen from
electricity and water. UCI engineers and graduate students have
been working to determine how beneficial the technology might be
and its feasibility for statewide or regional power grids.
Power-to-gas systems are currently in place in Germany and Canada.
The study used data from the UCI campus microgrid, which
includes solar panels that produce about 4 megawatts of peak power.
Simulations showed that by storing excess solar power on sunny days
and using an electrolyzer to produce renewable hydrogen, the
microgrid could support an additional 30 megawatts of solar panels.
The increased solar deployment raised the fraction of renewable
power used on campus from 3.5 percent to 35 percent.
About Southern California Gas Co.
SoCalGas has been delivering clean, safe and reliable natural
gas to its customers for 150 years. It is the nation's largest
natural gas distribution utility, providing service to 21.7 million
consumers connected through 5.9 million meters in more than 500
communities. The company's service territory encompasses about
20,000 square miles throughout central and Southern California, from Visalia to the Mexican border. SoCalGas is a
regulated subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500
energy services holding company based in San Diego.
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visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/socalgas-and-university-of-california-irvine-demonstrate-power-to-gas-technology-can-dramatically-increase-the-use-of-renewable-energy-300432101.html
SOURCE Southern California Gas Co.