Formal optimization techniques select hydrogen to decarbonize California

Abstract

System planning across economic sectors is becoming increasingly necessary. Building upon existing solutions for deep decarbonization, the inclusion of renewable capacity to meet up to 8 MMT/year hydrogen demand is carried out. An hourly economic dispatch problem modeling the 2050 California electric grid given this hydrogen demand constraint is solved. Hydrogen demand outside of the power generation sector is fixed, but the demand for power generation is endogenously determined. The factor to consider offshore wind capacity, in addition to a conservative and an aggressive hydrogen technology adoption approach, creates four distinct scenarios to evaluate. The difference in results then provides a basis for discussing the costs and benefits associated with using hydrogen to further decarbonize across all sectors. The carbon reduction achieved outside of the power generation sector is 27 MMT despite a slight increase in carbon within the power generation sector. The seasonal storage requirement for hydrogen spans from 72 to 149 TBtu dependent upon the renewable capacity mix. This level of hydrogen demand results in 21% to 41% of total electric load being dedicated to hydrogen production. Battery energy storage has the lowest energy throughput in the middle of the year coinciding with peak electrolyzer operation.