<
https://theconversation.com/empty-north-sea-oil-fields-could-store-enough-green-hydrogen-to-power-the-country-for-seven-years-289422>
"Every time Britain has a still, grey week in winter, something invisible
happens behind our plug sockets: gas power stations fire up to keep the lights
on. That gas is often imported, with prices set by volatile global markets.
This is one reason why energy bills surged during the cost-of-living crisis,
despite the low cost of available renewable energy.
On very windy days, we have a different problem. The grid can’t always use all
the electricity our wind farms generate, so we pay them to switch off. In
effect, we throw away clean energy because we have nowhere to store it.
Our latest research, published in the journal
Applied Energy, points to a
solution hiding under the North Sea. The depleted oil and gas fields that
powered Britain for half a century could be refilled, this time with hydrogen
made from our surplus wind and solar power.
We found that suitable depleted North Sea fields could provide 3,659
terawatt-hours of hydrogen storage capacity, equivalent to more than seven
years of projected UK electricity demand in 2040. Using them could also take
conventional gas power stations off the grid altogether by 2040."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
