By Paul Homewood
GREEN HYDROGEN
NESO’s 2030 Clean Power Report calculated there would be 83 TWh of surplus electricity in 2030, some of which might be exported at a loss and the rest constrained.
The alternative, of course, would be to use this power for electrolysis, which in theory might produce about 50 TWh of hydrogen. The process, of course, would be horribly expensive, given its intermittent feedstock. You would also need massive electrolyser capacity, as surplus capacity could run into tens of GW.
50 TWh of hydrogen would be about enough to replace the remnant of gas-fired power planned for by NESO. But it would be pretty pointless, as all of our existing CCGT fleet would need to be refurbished to burn hydrogen instead of gas.
But in overall terms, the UK uses about 500 TWh of natural gas a year, even excluding for power generation. Using surplus wind power to make hydrogen would barely put a dent in that.
via NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT
February 4, 2025 at 08:22AM
