Article Launched: 10/18/2005 01:00:00 AM business
Wind energy gets even greener
A pilot program uses wind to create hydrogen fuel, creating a "battery" to store currently unused power. By Steve Raabe Denver Post Staff Writer

Two big players in Colorado energy are searching for a way to store the energy generated by wind farms. In a pilot program, Xcel Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory plan to use wind power to create hydrogen fuel. The idea is to increase the efficiency of wind generation by using it during off-peak hours to produce hydrogen. The hydrogen would be stored, then used later to produce electricity during periods of peak demand. "In effect, hydrogen becomes the battery to store wind power," said Ben Kroposki, a senior engineer at the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden. Ultimately, the technology might be employed at every wind farm in the nation, officials said.

The pilot program in Colorado will be one of the nation’s first attempts to use off-peak wind generation to produce hydrogen fuel. That fuel can be stored for use during peak electric demand. It works like this: Power is generated from wind turbines during off-peak hours primarily during the night, when demand for electricity is low. The electricity powers an electrolyzer, a device that extracts hydrogen from water. The hydrogen is captured in storage tanks. The hydrogen is used as fuel in an internal-combustion engine, running a generator to make electricity during peak daytime periods.

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