Hydrogen

Southern California Gas Company is submitting an application to build a 10 to 20GW electrolyzer and 25 to 35GW of new and curtailed wind and solar, along with 2GW of energy storage, to deliver green hydrogen to the Los Angeles Basin.

Also on the rise: Solar growth occurred despite more than a year of price increases. Interconnection delays and costs plague utility-scale developers. Affordable hydrogen-based system for seasonal energy storage could be achieved at a hydrogen price lower than $3. California PUC raises renewable energy target. Impending 3G shutdown may affect inverters: there’s an app for that.

Researchers from the United States have investigated how fuel cells and electrolyzers may be able to operate under intermittent availability provided by both wind and solar and have found that an affordable hydrogen-based system for seasonal energy storage could be achieved at a hydrogen price lower than $3, produced from inexpensive renewable electricity at $0.02/kWh.

Also on the rise: Solid-state battery start-up Sparks opened a pilot plant for its patented lithium battery technology based on zero cobalt cathodes. Hyperion will invest in a new facility in Ohio to manufacture its hydrogen fuel cell. Pennsylvania may have to sell RECs and use the cash to cap abandoned oil and gas wells. Sol Systems acquires 540MW Illinois solar portfolio. Greenskies moves agrivoltaics forward in Connecticut. FranklinWH chief sales officer shares views on distributed storage.

Hyperion will invest more than $297 million in the new facility in Columbus, Ohio, where it will manufacture its next-generation hydrogen fuel cell, which will power its new line of stationary and mobile energy storage products, including its XP-1 hypercar.

The Kansas Geological Survey may help address the challenge of intermittent production from solar and other renewable sources.

An international research group has created a closed-loop, transparent energy platform based on PV power generation and hydrogen production from photo-electrochemical cells. The system is claimed to supply power without interruption and to be transparent enough to be integrated into buildings.

Bloom Energy produced hydrogen fuel using CSP technology from Heliogen.

Energy Vault signed a $520 million deal to supply 1.6 GWh of energy storage to DG Fuels to produce renewable hydrogen and a variety of fuels.

The new rates will help to support the expansion of two of the utility’s prominent solar programs, 30-by-30 and the SolarTogether community solar initiative.