A low-fossil, reliable electricity supply in 2050 based on Solar PV, is it possible?

Prof Kornelis Blok addressed the problem of how best to match demand with supply.

Using metering data on wind and solar electricity in Germany and also Europe as a whole, it was made clear that there is a big role for a strong European wide power grid to smooth out supply variation as much as possible.

In addition, some degree of curtailment will have to be allowed because it is not economically viable to use all wind and solar electricity. A third important technology is the storage of excess electricity in e.g. hydrogen. The efficiency of converting into hydrogen and generating electricity from it again is about 44 per cent.

On the demand side, efforts should also be made to keep peak consumption as low as possible. The conclusion is that with a mix of all these measures, it should be possible to develop an electricity system that uses 100 per cent renewable sources and is completely CO2 free.

Dr Marcel Weeda of ECN addressed the challenge of using hydrogen for seasonal electricity storage.

First, it was noted that electricity demand in the future will only be a small part of total energy demand. So it is good to include total energy demand in the problem as well. The generation of hydrogen when there is excess electricity becomes an essential part of the electricity system of the future.

All the components, such as electrolyzers and storage and conversion to electricity are already available in principle now but need further development.

A study is under way by ECN that is also studying the role of hydrogen for other applications such as source in the chemical industry and in (freight) transport. This study will be available soon.

It concludes that the "hydrogen industry" will become an important industry in the future.

Prof Bendiks Jan Boersma gave a lecture on "how to convert solar fuels back to electricity".

Conversion by combustion in turbines is possible, but is not very efficient and turbines running on hydrogen are not easy to realise. Fuel cells, on the other hand, offer many possibilities.

Several types that run on hydrogen are available and they operate at relatively low temperatures.

There are also high-temperature fuel cells that have the advantage of being able to convert many types of solar fuels to electricity. These can also convert NH4. NH4 was presented as an attractive solar fuel because it is CO2 free.

As the last speaker, Prof Egbert Jan Sol summarised the two meetings on Solar Fuels. Solar panels are the best source for electricity generation in the future. They require virtually no maintenance and many further developments are possible.

An estimate is made of the required installed capacity of solar panels in the Netherlands : 200 GWatt peak. That is a lot of panels, but it is possible in the Netherlands. However, we will have to take all kinds of measures to make good use of this generated electricity.

There was a lively discussion at the end of the meeting.

The presentations prompted many questions from the audience, which were, however, expertly answered by the panel.

Solar Fuels will become a very important aspect of electricity supply in 2050.

Watch the video back of this activitieit EU Power Lab Solar PV 2 here.

Description

"Is a Dutch, 100% sustainable electricity system with mainly Solar-PV energy feasible in 2050?" Seasonal energy storage might be needed for this!"
The second meeting will first address the question of how, in the electricity system with its highly variable wind and solar PV yields, supply and demand can be matched in such a way that a reliable and stable system can be guaranteed. On the basis of two recent and very relevant studies, this will be discussed in more detail. These will show, that with relatively limited temporary energy storage, a stable and reliable electricity system with a high share of renewable electricity up to 70% is quite possible. But with the ambition of a 100% renewable share in 2050, a good, seasonal energy storage system is inevitable. A hydrogen or methane-based storage route (P2G and G2P) has good potential for this, especially in an emerging hydrogen economy. Fuel cell technology will play an important role in this in the conversion of "solar fuels" to electricity, in large central power plants. But with the expected sharp increase in decentralised solar PV electricity, a market for small decentralised solarfuel storage systems can also be expected in the coming decades. These topics will be discussed in depth in the meeting and provide fascinating material for the panel discussion.

Chairman of the day: Dr Marcel Weeda, ECN
15:30 Reception and registration
16:00 Opening
16:10-16:50 100% sustainable electricity in 2050. How do we match supply and demand?
prof. dr. Kornelis Blok, Ecofys
16:50-17:30 'Role for hydrogen in the future Dutch energy supply' dr. Jeroen de Joode, ECN
17:30-18:00 Break with sandwich meal
18:00-18:40 Central and decentralised reconversion of electricity from solar fuels. prof. Dr Bendiks-Jan Boersma, TU-Delft
18:40-19:00 Solarfuels: technology, economics and upcoming developments: the conclusions
Prof. Dr Egbert-Jan Sol, TNO
19:00-19:30 Panel discussion
19.30 Closing

Speaker(s)

Dr Marcel Weeda, ECN
Prof Kornelis Blok, Ecofys
Dr Jeroen de Joode, ECN
Prof Egbert-Jan Sol, TNO
Prof Bendiks-Jan Boersma, TU-Delft

Location

Utrecht University,Library,de Boothzaal

Heidelberglaan 3, Utrecht

Organiser

Electrical Engineering

in cooperation with Utrecht Sustainability Institute

Name and contact details for information

Dr Eric Persoon, t 040-2016706 email:eric.persoon@upcmail.nl Ir Loek Boonstra, t 040-2213758 email: lboonstra-1@hetnet.nl Ir Guus Ydema , t 06 23574816 email: guus.ydema@step2eco.com Dr Carolien van Hemel (USI), t 030-2537214 email: c.g.vanhemel@uu.nl

eric.persoon@upcmail.nl

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