Renewable Hydrogen Canada (RH2C) is one step closer to opening a renewable hydrogen plant in Chetwynd after the green energy investment arm of Macquarie Capital stepped up with $200-million plus in investment financing for the project.
RH2C is not a name that many in the area will know, but developer Juergen Puetter is a common face behind alternative energy projects in the Peace. He is president of Blue Fuel Energy and Aeolis Wind, which built the first wind park in the Peace—Dawson Creek’s Bear Mountain—and was behind the Moose Lake Project.
The new project would see water split into its component hydrogen and oxygen using renewable energy—much of it from a new, dedicated wind farm—using a process known as electrolysis. This hydrogen would be purchased by Fortis BC and injected into the natural gas network, which will be fed to homes around the province.
Hydrogen is highly flammable, so it can be used as a combustion fuel, and when burned, recombines with oxygen to produce water.
It has also been, historically, very expensive to produce, a nut that the partners in the project think they’ve managed to crack.
The plant would produce 60 tonnes of hydrogen per day.
The company is also partnering with Sundance Produce greenhouses to use the waste heat from the plant to keep the greenhouses warm.
Currently, renewable energy is being used mostly for electricity. While 59.3 percent of Canada’s electricity is produced using a combination of hydroelectric, wind, solar and other green sources, it only makes up 18.9 percent of Canada’s total primary energy production. By converting a portion of the energy for heating to hydrogen, it is extending the reach of green energy.
Under the CleanBC renewable natural gas policy, 15 percent of natural gas used will need to be from renewable resources.
Currently, that’s primarily being generated from landfills and biomass sources. But hydrogen made from wind and water, then injected into the natural gas stream should also count as renewable.
Hydrogen produced by electrolysis is more expensive than hydrogen produced from natural gas, but requires no fossil fuels.
And, as the cost of green energy continues to drop, the cost of producing hydrogen via electrolysis will also continue to drop.
Indeed, Puetter has been quoted as saying a dedicated wind farm could produce energy at a cost lower than what BC Hydro currently charges.
However, all is not sunshine and roses. The project still needs approval from Enbridge to allow hydrogen to be injected into their pipelines.
While BC Hydro’s target is 15 percent, the 60 tonnes of hydrogen would be three percent of the natural gas stream.
