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PhD Thesis - Energy Systems Research Unit - University of Strathclyde

PhD Thesis - Energy Systems Research Unit - University of Strathclyde

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would be incurred, and the scale <strong>of</strong> the demands being considered are too small<br />

for pumped storage to be a viable option.<br />

The required installed wind turbine capacity would vary with the inclusion <strong>of</strong><br />

suitable storage, but would be in the order <strong>of</strong> 300 to 400 kW to allow all<br />

demands to be satisfactorily met within the limitations <strong>of</strong> currently available<br />

storage devices. The introduction <strong>of</strong> a small amount <strong>of</strong> photovoltaic generated<br />

electricity made little difference to the overall supply pattern due to limited<br />

available insolation and areas to site panels.<br />

8.3.2 Intermittent Electricity Supply with Hydrogen Storage<br />

Hydrogen has the advantage that it can be used for both long and short term<br />

storage as necessary, without significant loss <strong>of</strong> the energy potential <strong>of</strong> the<br />

stored fuel, and has been considered here, not only as a form <strong>of</strong> electrical<br />

storage, but also for direct use as a fuel for transportation and heating. Any<br />

excess electricity is converted into hydrogen via the electrolysis <strong>of</strong> water<br />

(subject to a minimum electrolyser load <strong>of</strong> 10% <strong>of</strong> its rated capacity), and can<br />

then be used directly in vehicles, in fuel cells for CHP production, and in<br />

catalytic hydrogen heaters. For this example, the production <strong>of</strong> electricity and<br />

heat would be carried out centrally, and transmitted to households via an<br />

electricity network and district-heating scheme.<br />

Figures 8.4 to 8.7 present the results given by the matching procedure in<br />

MERIT. These show that all the energy requirements for this area can be met,<br />

with minimal losses, by 210 kW <strong>of</strong> installed wind capacity, a 50Nm 3 (150kW)<br />

electrolyser, hydrogen fuelled vehicles, two 20kW proton exchange membrane<br />

(low temperature) fuel cells, and a 100kW catalytic hydrogen heater. The<br />

excess electricity shown on the residual graph is due to the minimum load<br />

requirement <strong>of</strong> the electrolyser, but the use <strong>of</strong> this excess electricity in electric<br />

storage heaters makes no difference to the required rated capacity <strong>of</strong> wind<br />

turbines. The small amount <strong>of</strong> excess heat generated is due to excess heat<br />

production by the fuel cell CHP plant that is following the electricity demand.<br />

The use <strong>of</strong> the fuel cell CHP plant is considered before the use <strong>of</strong> the heaters to<br />

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