The small county town of Denham, Western Australia, about 100kms from Carnarvon, looks to become a model host to a new energy solution.
Denham is home to about 700 Australians. For the past twenty years, Denham’s electricity has been sourced from a combination of diesel and wind-generated power. Horizon own and operate the diesel facility, with the wind farm owned by Synergy. Both the current assets are aging, ready for disposal.
In support of the WA government’s Renewable Hydrogen Strategy, Horizon Power is exploring the option of supplying power to Denham with hydrogen as a renewable electricity source, thereby ceasing the lifecycle of the current assets and commencing new options.
Renewable hydrogen is defined as hydrogen produced using energy from renewable energy sources. A renewable hydrogen plant is just one asset in a suite of many that knit together to create the availability of power, 24/7. A solar farm is used to generate electricity to power an electrolyser, which splits water into hydrogen and oxygen, with the oxygen being released into the atmosphere, and hydrogen stored in a fuel cell1. Renewable hydrogen is clean, with low-carbon emissions, and there is a growing global demand for it. As well as being an energy source, it has the potential to provide a carbon-neutral feedstock for industrial processes as well as offering energy storage to support the electricity grid2.
The path to a successful global export strategy begins with Denham. The town will prove the reliability of a hydrogen plant and provide the opportunity to expand the plant for further power requirements.
Tell us your thoughts on renewable hydrogen as a power source. Leave a comment below or email Linda at communications@amcouncil.com.au.
1 Sourced: http://www.horizonpower.com.au/our-community/news-events/news/denham-to-demonstrate-hydrogen-power/
2 Sourced: http://www.drd.wa.gov.au/publications/documents/wa_renewable_hydrogen_strategy.pdf p11