Duke Energy, GE Vernova, and Sargent and Lundy are set to participate in a pioneering project to demonstrate an end-to-end energy system that produces, stores, and combusts 100% renewable hydrogen at Duke Energy’s DeBary solar plant in Florida. The system will use hydrogen from a facility planned at the 74.5-MW Debary plant in Volusia County, a 2020-opened facility with 300,000 solar PV panels. The hydrogen production plant will run two 1-MW electrolyzer units and deliver the hydrogen to a combustion turbine (CT), which will be upgraded using GE technology to combust a natural gas/hydrogen blend or up to 100% hydrogen. The project is intended to offer a solution to one of the renewable energy sector’s most pressing challenges: maintaining consistent energy supply even when the sun”s energy is diminished while optimizing solar energy resources for extended periods of high demand. The demonstration, the first of its kind in the US., follows similar efforts around the world.
Solar Dominates US Energy Capacity Growth
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has published data showing that solar accounted for over 75% of US electrical generating
