Let’s keep pretending the climate will notice if a few hundred wind turbines are dotted around the seas. Better still, let’s make them even more expensive and unwieldy by adding some new technology that we can’t easily service as it’s miles offshore. It’s claimed that ‘brilliant minds’ will be working on this, but it doesn’t take a genius to see the flaws in the plan.
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Siemens Gamesa and Siemens Energy have today announced plans to invest €120m ($146m) in a five-year strategy to unlock the potential of harvesting green hydrogen from offshore windpower, reports Power Engineering International.
The companies are collaborating on a solution to integrate an electrolyzer into an offshore wind turbine as a single synchronized system to directly produce green hydrogen.
Over the next five years, Siemens Gamesa will invest €80m and Siemens Energy €40m in the initiative, with a view to unveiling a full-scale offshore demonstration by 2025/26.
Siemens Gamesa chief executive Andreas Nauen said the joint initiative “brings together brilliant minds and cutting-edge technologies to address the climate crisis”.
“Our wind turbines play a huge role in the decarbonization of the global energy system, and the potential of wind to hydrogen means that we can do this for hard-to-abate industries too.”
Siemens Energy chief executive Christian Bruch said that the two companies “are in a unique position to develop this game-changing solution”.
Full report here.
Even if it works it won’t be a big seller any time soon, especially in countries looking for value for money…
Fossil fuels to dominate Africa’s energy mix this decade – report
January 13, 2021
The study predicts that in 2030, fossil fuels will account for two-thirds of all generated electricity across Africa. While an additional 18% of generation is set to come from hydro-energy projects.
https://www.powerengineeringint.com/world-regions/africa/fossil-fuels-to-dominate-africas-energy-mix-this-decade-report/
Its not an investment if it can’t pay dividends. And you can’t pay an honest dividend off of subsidies.
https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/UK-firm-plans-wind-SMR-hybrid-system-with-NuScale
By 2027 no less! But that will be from wind presumably, since I doubt the nuke will be ready by then. In a sane world, after a while, they’ll topple the windmills into the sea and keep the SMR.
And then forget about load following with the reactors unless it’s cheaper than flogging the H2.
Throwing more good money after bad!
Why put the hydrogen process offshore, unless there aren’t going to be any electricity transmission lines?
Can’t be long before we get into ventusarian rights.
Denmark will eventually squeal when all their wind is blocked.
Siemens et al surely expect to make money from this investment. The fluffy press release explains nothing (journalists are notoriously incurious) but a turbine with integral electrolyzer.
M’kay. What are you going to do with the salt from electrolyzing sea water? How are you going to store the hydrogen? Do you have a permit to release oxygen? How are you going to transport the (alleged) hydrogen – ship? pipeline? What are you going to do with it when you get it ashore – do you have a buyer lined up? Does the buyer have a terminal that can receive your hydrogen? Can he sell it (and make a profit)? Can you make it and sell it and make a profit?
Seems very speculative for a €120m investment. I suspect there is more going on behind the curtain. Government subsidies – to be announced later?