Horizon Power has developed a solar hydrogen microgrid in Western Australia, including a customized control program for autonomous management of its Denham subsystems, according to a new report prepared in partnership with the state government
From pv magazine Australia
The Western Australian Government has released a report sharing lessons learned during the commissioning and operation of the first solar and green hydrogen microgrid of its kind now operating in the coastal community of Denham, approximately 800 kilometers north of Perth.
The factory is the first in Western Australia renewable hydrogen microgrid and includes a dedicated 704 kW solar farm, two 174 kW electrolysers with associated compression and storage, and a 100 kW fuel cell that can be used to provide electricity when needed.
This is linked to Denham’s existing standalone energy system, which includes a separate 640 kW solar farm, a 1.5 MW/1.7 MWh battery energy storage system, a wind turbine and a 2.6 MW diesel-fired generator.
The solar and renewable hydrogen system is expected to generate 526 MWh of renewable energy per year, of which at least 220 MWh will be supplied by renewable hydrogen. The factory is expected to produce an estimated 13,000 kg of green hydrogen per year, which will serve as a switchable energy source. It is believed that the hydrogen could reduce diesel consumption in the city by 140,000 liters per year.
The Report on sharing public knowledge prepared by Western Australian regional and remote energy supplier Horizon Power highlights the challenges faced by the engineering, procurement and construction contractor, including the need to “develop most deliverables from scratch” due to the unique nature of the project.
It also shows that developing a control program with a high level of maturity to manage the dispatch of the electrolysers and reduce the amount of energy consumed from other sources was a critical achievement for the success of the commissioning.
Horizon said lessons learned during the delivery of the Denham microgrid will expand the knowledge and technical capabilities of hydrogen control systems and test how the technology can be integrated and deployed into electricity systems in WA and the rest of the country.
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The state-owned company said the aim of the system is not to produce as much renewable hydrogen as possible, or to optimize it at minimum cost – but to prove that hydrogen storage systems can be used as a viable means of storing excess renewable energy. and return that energy to an electrical grid, shifting the renewable energy over time.
“Using hydrogen to capture and store excess renewable energy and then return that energy to the electricity system provides a viable alternative to the continued consumption of diesel,” Horizon said. “[It] also provides an energy storage mechanism that can compete favorably with batteries.”
Western Australia’s Acting Energy Minister Tony Buti said the Denham project is a breakthrough for using hydrogen as a fuel that could support renewable energy when the wind doesn’t blow or the sun doesn’t shine.
“This report confirms the great opportunity for hydrogen to play a role in our state’s energy transition,” he said. “As we phase out state-owned coal-fired power stations and embrace renewable energy, hydrogen can play a key role in our state’s energy supply while creating jobs and business opportunities through new export markets. By replacing diesel with hydrogen in Denham, our government has also demonstrated how this technology could specifically benefit regional communities connected to microgrids.”
Horizon said it will continue to monitor the performance of the Denham plant and track operational and maintenance requirements for improvements over the next twelve months, sharing learnings with the industry.
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