Power-to-gas technology earns Department of Energy support
After several years of working with researchers to study the impact of power-to-gas technology (P2G) on natural gas infrastructure and California energy markets, Southern California Gas Co. has won the support of the U.S. Department of Energy.
The utility’s P2G project has been selected by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to receive up to $175,000 in cost share support for a new technology research and demonstration project at NREL’s Energy Systems Integration Facility. Researchers from the utility and the lab will partner to advance the development of power-to-gas technology, a cutting-edge method of storing excess renewable energy.
“We were encouraged that the Department of Energy recognized the value of this technology as a tool to increase the use of renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This funding will allow us to assess P2G technology more thoroughly and over a longer period of time,” Jeff Reed, director of business strategy and advance technology at SoCalGas, told American Gas.
One of P2G’s key strengths is the ability to effectively store renewable energy for weeks and even months, something current battery technology cannot easily achieve, Reed said.
The technology can significantly increase the amount of renewable energy integrated into the electrical supply and improve grid reliability.
SoCalGas officials said they expect the demand for renewable gas for transportation and the need for bulk storage on the grid to grow rapidly.
“For P2G to undergo widespread deployment, regulators must recognize it as a qualified grid storage resource so that grid operators can deploy P2G projects to meet a portion of their storage procurement requirements,” Reed said. In fact, this type of technology will be critical for supporting increased deployment of wind and solar energy in pursuit of California’s aggressive renewable power goals.
An economic analysis conducted by researchers at University of California, Irvine, showed P2G is cost competitive with battery storage technology for storage durations as short as six hours, Reed said.
P2G also addresses challenges inherent to solar resources such as excess power that would otherwise go to waste, seasonal variations in solar and wind power, and appropriate storage options that would keep electricity rates stable.
SoCal Gas is a founding sponsor of the new Center for Renewable Natural Gas at the University of California, Riverside, the nation’s first academic establishment dedicated to the study and applied research of renewable gas technologies. Part of UC Riverside’s Center for Environmental Research & Technology, the Center for Renewable Natural Gas was funded in part by SoCalGas with a matching donation from the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the National Center for Sustainable Transportation.