(St. Petersburg / USA) – US utility Duke Energy Florida LLC announces plans to build and operate the nation's first plant capable of producing, storing and burning 100 percent green hydrogen in a turbine in Florida. The planned end-to-end system will be installed in DeBary, Volusia County. The gas power plant there with an output of 310 megawatts went online in 1992 and primarily covers dispatchable peak loads. It is already designed as a “dual fuel” system and can also be operated with oil.
Electricity from hydrogen for peak loads
The groundbreaking ceremony for the demonstration project should take place “shortly”. Hydrogen production will be directly linked to an existing 74,5 megawatt solar system. The two electrolyzers each have a capacity of one megawatt. The green hydrogen is stored in nearby storage facilities and delivered to a turbine during times of high energy demand (combustion turbine, CT).
Duke Energy worked on the project with the US engineering company Sargent & Lundy LLC and the General Electric subsidiary GE Vernova, which is contributing the technology that allows the turbine to run both on a natural gas-hydrogen mixture and completely on its own Hydrogen can be operated. This will be the first combustion turbine in the country to use such a high hydrogen content, said Melissa Seixas, president of Duke Energy Florida.
Commissioning in 2024
Construction of the project in DeBary could take about a year, according to the company. Duke Energy expects the system to be installed and fully operational in 2024.
Duke Energy Florida is a subsidiary of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Duke Energy, which supplies electricity to 1,9 million customers in seven US states. Duke Energy aims to reduce its methane emissions from natural gas to zero by 2030 and completely eliminate carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050.
Photos
A plant for the production, storage and combustion of hydrogen is to be built in DeBary. © Duke Energy
