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Released July 05, 2022 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by Paul Wiseman for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In this series, we have examined many of the wide-ranging challenges to biofuels regarding competition with farmland and fertilizers as well as their capacity for adding significantly to the energy mix. It is doubtful for a host of reasons that any single renewable source will become as dominant as oil, gas and coal have been over the last 120 or more years, so the future energy landscape seems destined to be dotted with a variety of replacements. Some, like geothermal and renewable natural gas (RNG) will be location specific while others, like the dreamed-of hydrogen economy, may have more widespread geographical options.
Over the next few weeks, we will investigate these three energy sources, but first an overview.
Hydrogen
By far the most promising energy source on a large scale is hydrogen. The hydrogen economy was first proposed by South African chemistry professor John Bockris, among others in 1970--the year of the first Earth Day.
The idea is that hydrogen would be produced from water through electrolysis, with power provided from wind or solar sources.
One might ask, why not just use wind and solar-generated electricity directly instead of going to that trouble? The answer is that it depends on the application. For vehicles, green electricity requires batteries, which require metals like lithium and rare earths whose prices are skyrocketing--and batteries, for electric vehicles have limited range.
Hydrogen is more easily stored and transported, and can be used either to create a current in a fuel cell, with only water as a byproduct, or it can be burned, making it a possible replacement in high-power applications--although practical applications of such use are likely a decade or more in the future.
This year, the bipartisan infrastructure bill authorized the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to spend $8 billion to develop at least four regional clean hydrogen hubs. The DOE is expected to issue a plan for the hubs over the next few months.
Industrial Info is tracking 25 Power-to-X hydrogen projects in the U.S., worth $9.5 billion. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Chemical Processing Project Database can click here for a list of detailed project reports.
Geothermal
The great advantage for geothermal over almost all other large-scale renewables for electricity generation is its ability to provide baseline load. It's not dependent on the wind or sun, daylight or nighttime.
Like hydrogen, it can be harnessed in more than one way. For hundreds of years, geothermal energy from hot springs has been used for heating and for health purposes. Iceland, for example, heats almost all its structures that way, and northern California uses it for homes and greenhouses.
Geothermal HVAC systems, whose outside coils are buried to shed or absorb heat from the ground instead of through the air, are becoming more widespread as well. Because they do not rely specifically on geothermal heat, as do hot springs, these systems can be put in a variety of locations.
For areas where the earth's heat is close to the surface or is at least accessible by drilling a well, utility-scale electricity is a strong option because of its aforementioned baseline load capabilities. There are two main methods for capturing this heat--one is to drill into a formation containing water that has been heated by the earth's energy, or wet steam. The second is to drill into a dry formation, pump water down until the formation heats it, then use the resulting steam to power a generator system. Other methods include pumping a fluid down a hole to be heated, bringing it up--using a heat exchanger to heat surface water into steam--then using that to turn a generator.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said, "In 2021, there were geothermal power plants in seven states, which produced about 16 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) (or 16,238,000 megawatt hours), equal to about 0.4% of total U.S. utility-scale electricity generation."
Industrial Info is tracking nearly $1 billion worth of active geothermal power projects in the U.S. Subscribers can click here for a list of detailed project reports.
Renewable Natural Gas
This option seems to be mostly suited to local applications. Methane, RNG's main ingredient, is the result of the decay of food waste in landfills, sewage treatment plants and feedlots. Controlling and capturing this gas makes it available to be burned in order to generate electricity.
The top drawback here for environmental concerns is that it, alone of these three energy sources, does give off CO2. But its promoters point out that this methane would be entering the atmosphere anyway, so harnessing the methane is still better than bringing natural gas out of the ground.
Location and limited supply are two other issues. Many municipalities currently capture RNG for generating some site power, vehicle use, site heating or other small options. Before being injecting into a natural gas pipeline, it must be treated to remove moisture and other impurities, and to bring its methane content up to the 96-98% necessary for pipelines, instead of its natural level of 45-65%.
Industrial Info is tracking more than $1.5 billion worth of RNG projects in the U.S. Subscribers can click here for a list of detailed reports.
Next we will look more closely at hydrogen.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the world's leading provider of market intelligence across the upstream, midstream and downstream energy markets and all other major industrial markets. IIR's Global Market Intelligence Platform (GMI) supports our end-users across their core businesses, and helps them connect trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated project opportunities. Follow IIR on: LinkedIn.
Over the next few weeks, we will investigate these three energy sources, but first an overview.
Hydrogen
By far the most promising energy source on a large scale is hydrogen. The hydrogen economy was first proposed by South African chemistry professor John Bockris, among others in 1970--the year of the first Earth Day.
The idea is that hydrogen would be produced from water through electrolysis, with power provided from wind or solar sources.
One might ask, why not just use wind and solar-generated electricity directly instead of going to that trouble? The answer is that it depends on the application. For vehicles, green electricity requires batteries, which require metals like lithium and rare earths whose prices are skyrocketing--and batteries, for electric vehicles have limited range.
Hydrogen is more easily stored and transported, and can be used either to create a current in a fuel cell, with only water as a byproduct, or it can be burned, making it a possible replacement in high-power applications--although practical applications of such use are likely a decade or more in the future.
This year, the bipartisan infrastructure bill authorized the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to spend $8 billion to develop at least four regional clean hydrogen hubs. The DOE is expected to issue a plan for the hubs over the next few months.
Industrial Info is tracking 25 Power-to-X hydrogen projects in the U.S., worth $9.5 billion. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Chemical Processing Project Database can click here for a list of detailed project reports.
Geothermal
The great advantage for geothermal over almost all other large-scale renewables for electricity generation is its ability to provide baseline load. It's not dependent on the wind or sun, daylight or nighttime.
Like hydrogen, it can be harnessed in more than one way. For hundreds of years, geothermal energy from hot springs has been used for heating and for health purposes. Iceland, for example, heats almost all its structures that way, and northern California uses it for homes and greenhouses.
Geothermal HVAC systems, whose outside coils are buried to shed or absorb heat from the ground instead of through the air, are becoming more widespread as well. Because they do not rely specifically on geothermal heat, as do hot springs, these systems can be put in a variety of locations.
For areas where the earth's heat is close to the surface or is at least accessible by drilling a well, utility-scale electricity is a strong option because of its aforementioned baseline load capabilities. There are two main methods for capturing this heat--one is to drill into a formation containing water that has been heated by the earth's energy, or wet steam. The second is to drill into a dry formation, pump water down until the formation heats it, then use the resulting steam to power a generator system. Other methods include pumping a fluid down a hole to be heated, bringing it up--using a heat exchanger to heat surface water into steam--then using that to turn a generator.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said, "In 2021, there were geothermal power plants in seven states, which produced about 16 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) (or 16,238,000 megawatt hours), equal to about 0.4% of total U.S. utility-scale electricity generation."
Industrial Info is tracking nearly $1 billion worth of active geothermal power projects in the U.S. Subscribers can click here for a list of detailed project reports.
Renewable Natural Gas
This option seems to be mostly suited to local applications. Methane, RNG's main ingredient, is the result of the decay of food waste in landfills, sewage treatment plants and feedlots. Controlling and capturing this gas makes it available to be burned in order to generate electricity.
The top drawback here for environmental concerns is that it, alone of these three energy sources, does give off CO2. But its promoters point out that this methane would be entering the atmosphere anyway, so harnessing the methane is still better than bringing natural gas out of the ground.
Location and limited supply are two other issues. Many municipalities currently capture RNG for generating some site power, vehicle use, site heating or other small options. Before being injecting into a natural gas pipeline, it must be treated to remove moisture and other impurities, and to bring its methane content up to the 96-98% necessary for pipelines, instead of its natural level of 45-65%.
Industrial Info is tracking more than $1.5 billion worth of RNG projects in the U.S. Subscribers can click here for a list of detailed reports.
Next we will look more closely at hydrogen.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the world's leading provider of market intelligence across the upstream, midstream and downstream energy markets and all other major industrial markets. IIR's Global Market Intelligence Platform (GMI) supports our end-users across their core businesses, and helps them connect trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated project opportunities. Follow IIR on: LinkedIn.
