There is a breadth of gas options that can be used to decarbonise the energy system, and in addition to renewable gases being used directly in homes and businesses for cooking, heating and hot water, research released today found that hydrogen gas is a legitimate pathway for decarbonising electricity as well as gas.

The Energy Link report, commissioned by Firstgas, tested methods to meet supply and demand fluctuations in a completely renewable electricity system. Energy Link considered three options: a pumped hydro solution like that being investigated for Lake Onslow; overbuilding of renewables; and large-scale hydrogen storage.

While the three options performed much the same in terms of minimal carbon emissions, the report concluded that large scale hydrogen storage was the most favourable, in that it:

• Would achieve the lowest wholesale electricity prices and least price volatility.

• Was the only option to recover its costs from the wholesale market, effectively paying for itself.

• Offered far greater security of supply with less than half the amount of expected emergency events and outages compared with the alternatives.

These findings are an example of the potential, and sometimes unexpected benefits, that can be realised when factoring gas into the future energy mix.

While the study looked at the electricity system, not the gas system, it noted that excess hydrogen produced by a Hydrogen Storage solution could be used for Kiwi gas consumers. GasNZ Chief Executive, Janet Carson said this was promising.

“GasNZ aspires to a future where renewable gases are a material part of the energy mix. There are so many options for decarbonising gas when we focus on a range of solutions instead of a single answer,” she said.

For the full report go to Report: Energy Link report: Hydrogen Storage.