LOS ANGELES, April 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern
California Gas Company (SoCalGas) is bringing sci-fi innovation to
life and has joined with the Energy Department's National Renewable
Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the National Fuel Cell Research Center
(NFCRC) to launch demonstration projects to create and test a
carbon-free, power-to-gas system for the first time ever in the
U.S. The technology converts electricity into gaseous energy and
could provide North America with a
large-scale, cost-effective solution for storing excess energy
produced from renewable sources.
Using electrolyzer-based methods, the power-to-gas concept uses
electricity from renewable sources, such as solar and wind power,
to make carbon-free hydrogen gas by breaking down water into
hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen can then be converted to
synthetic, renewable methane — traditional natural gas — and stored
to meet future energy needs. It can also be used as a multi-purpose
energy source for vehicles, micro-turbines, fuel cells or other
equipment.
"A power-to-gas system can help California meet environmentally-focused energy
goals and solve a major energy challenge facing our nation: how to
cost-effectively store excess power from renewables to meet energy
demands when the wind does not blow or the sun does not shine,"
said Patrick Lee, senior vice
president, customer service, innovation and business strategy for
SoCalGas.
California is expected to
produce 33 percent of its electricity from renewable sources within
five years and Gov. Jerry Brown's
new energy goals call for significantly increasing that level to 50
percent by 2030. As the amount of power produced from renewable
resources increases, storing it for later use is a worldwide
challenge. Batteries, a standard form of storage, require
significant capital investment, but have limited capacity and
relatively short duration.
Commercial-scale power-to-gas systems are already used in
Germany and are being explored
globally as a means to convert and store increasing levels of wind
and solar power during times of excess supply. Such a commercial
system could enable natural gas utilities across North America to use their existing pipeline
infrastructure as essentially a large, cost-effective "battery" to
store and deliver clean, renewable energy on demand.
Located at the NFCRC at the University of
California, Irvine and NREL's laboratories in Golden, Colorado, the power-to-gas
demonstrations will also assess the feasibility and potential
benefits of using the natural gas pipeline system to store
photovoltaic and wind-produced energy.
"As we reach high levels of renewable energy on the grid,
storing the electricity generated by solar power and other variable
energy sources will help unlock greater use of these renewable
resources in the U.S. and throughout the world," said Dr.
Martha Symko-Davies, the Director of
Partnerships for Energy Systems Integration for NREL. "This project
will examine a unique way to reduce the capital cost of energy
storage."
While much attention has been focused on developing batteries to
store excess energy, battery capabilities are still limited to
short-term storage and batteries remain expensive. Power-to-gas
offers longer term storage capacity and cost-effectively using
existing natural gas infrastructure to potentially create the
world's largest storage technology. In addition, power-to-gas
storage can conserve the significant amount of energy currently
wasted when renewable production exceeds consumption.
"With the extensive storage capacity of natural gas
infrastructure, this project will provide important validation of
the technical and economic feasibility of carbon-free energy
transformation and storage," said Professor Scott Samuelsen, director of the NFCRC.
"SoCalGas continually seeks innovation to benefit our customers
and is excited to work with NREL and NFCRC to help make this
technology a reality in the U.S.," added Lee.
SoCalGas' power-to-gas project is expected to provide valuable
data on the dynamics of hydrogen production in a system flush with
renewable electricity. Initial project results are expected by year
end.
About SoCalGas: Southern California Gas Co. has been
delivering clean, safe and reliable natural gas to its customers
for more than 140 years. It is the nation's largest natural gas
distribution utility, providing service to 21.4 million consumers
connected through 5.9 million meters in more than 500 communities.
The company's service territory encompasses approximately 20,000
square miles throughout central and Southern California, from Visalia to the Mexican border. Southern
California Gas Co. is a regulated subsidiary of Sempra Energy
(NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in
San Diego.
About the National Fuel Cell Research Center:
The
National Fuel Cell Research Center (NFCRC) was dedicated in 1998 by
the U.S. Department of Energy and the California Energy Commission
with the goal to accelerate the development and deployment of
advanced fuel cell technology and systems. Examples include
the tri-generation of bio-hydrogen, the hybridization of fuel cells
with gas turbines, and the deployment of hydrogen fueling
infrastructure. The NFCRC is located at the University of California, Irvine. For more
information visit www.nfcrc.uci.edu.
About the University of California,
Irvine: Currently celebrating its 50th anniversary,
UCI is the youngest member of the
prestigious Association of American Universities. Founded in 1965,
UC Irvine is ranked first among U.S. universities under 50 years
old by the London-based Times
Higher Education. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and
is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation
and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 30,000 students and offers
192 degree programs. It's located in one of the world's safest and
most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County's second-largest employer,
contributing $4.8 billion annually to
the local economy. For more on UCI, visit www.uci.edu.
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SOURCE Southern California Gas Company