Duke Energy Florida has unveiled an integrated green hydrogen production, storage, and combustion system in Volusia County, Florida. The DeBary production storage system uses renewable energy from a 74.5 MW solar plant which powers two 1 MW electrolyser units. The system supplies hydrogen to a recently upgraded GE Vernova gas turbine that can run on natural gas-hydrogen blends of high percentage hydrogen. The hydrogen produced is stored on-site for use in the combustion turbine.
According to the company, the hydrogen system helps make the natural gas turbines more flexible as the excess daytime solar power is converted into hydrogen and stored for later use. Further, conversion into green hydrogen and storage ensures that renewable energy is dispatched when needed most rather than when it is generated. In addition, the turbines can be operated anytime and are not dependent on season or time of day, as hydrogen storage helps manage the intermittency of solar power. Using hydrogen storage has allowed Duke Energy to use renewable power instead of natural gas, thereby helping displace the cost of fuel for customers.
