Post by account_disabled on Feb 27, 2024 4:54:25 GMT
A new green hydrogen project in the small island nation of Barbados offers a glimpse of the future that awaits after the global economy wakes up from its collective fossil energy nightmare. Unless sheep give you nightmares, that is.
Green hydrogen meets agrivoltaics
For those of you new to hydrogen, the modern industrial economy depends on hydrogen , and almost all of that hydrogen comes from natural gas and other fossil sources. That's starting to change as the cost of electrolysis systems drops. Coupled with the ongoing decline in the cost of wind and solar energy, electrolysis may provide a cost-effective way to extract hydrogen gas from tap water.
The result is green hydrogen, which serves as a transportation fuel, an input for various industrial and agricultural processes, including power generation, and a long-term energy storage option. Green hydr Brazil Mobile Number List ogen can also be transported by road, rail, ship or pipeline.
Agrivoltaics is another emerging field that could help improve the profitability of green hydrogen systems. Agrivoltaics combines agricultural production with solar panels. Instead of mounting solar panels close to the ground, they are raised a few feet higher. That entails additional costs, but those costs can be offset by putting the land into the matrix for productive use.
Pollinator habitats and livestock grazing lands were the initial focus of agrivoltaic projects, but the field is rapidly branching out into food crops. Farmers and researchers are discovering that the microclimate formed by solar panels helps conserve water, maintain soil stability, and protect crops from inclement weather.
Barbados' green hydrogen trifecta is a four-fold
Depending on what you count, the new “Renewstable Barbados” project involves four elements, not just three. Either way, it shows that some nations are not waiting for emerging systems like green hydrogen and agrivoltaics to mature.
Renewstable Barbados is a relatively small project, which aims to provide electricity to just , homes. However, its impact could be widespread in terms of combining energy production with food security through the agrivoltaic model.
It will consist of a -megawatt solar array with on-site green hydrogen and a lithium-ion battery storage system. It will also be home to a livestock operation described as the largest sheep farm on the island.
Hydrogen and battery storage elements also overcome the challenge of intermittent power from solar panels, which of course do not produce electricity at night.
Developers don't let the grass grow under their feet. Construction is scheduled to begin next year if all goes as planned.
Follow the money for green hydrogen
As for whether or not the Renewstable Barbados platform will be replicated elsewhere, that could already be in the cards considering the institutional muscle behind the project.
The project is under the wing of IDB Invest, which is the private sector arm of the IDB Group, which specializes in emerging markets .
“We finance projects to promote clean energy, sustainability and generate economic growth and social inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean,” explains the IDB. The firm's current portfolio consists of $ billion in assets under management for clients in countries.
Also providing assistance is the IFC (also known as the International Finance Corporation ), a member of the World Bank, which describes itself as “the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets.”
IFC has apparently been ignoring green hydrogen skeptics.
Green hydrogen meets agrivoltaics
For those of you new to hydrogen, the modern industrial economy depends on hydrogen , and almost all of that hydrogen comes from natural gas and other fossil sources. That's starting to change as the cost of electrolysis systems drops. Coupled with the ongoing decline in the cost of wind and solar energy, electrolysis may provide a cost-effective way to extract hydrogen gas from tap water.
The result is green hydrogen, which serves as a transportation fuel, an input for various industrial and agricultural processes, including power generation, and a long-term energy storage option. Green hydr Brazil Mobile Number List ogen can also be transported by road, rail, ship or pipeline.
Agrivoltaics is another emerging field that could help improve the profitability of green hydrogen systems. Agrivoltaics combines agricultural production with solar panels. Instead of mounting solar panels close to the ground, they are raised a few feet higher. That entails additional costs, but those costs can be offset by putting the land into the matrix for productive use.
Pollinator habitats and livestock grazing lands were the initial focus of agrivoltaic projects, but the field is rapidly branching out into food crops. Farmers and researchers are discovering that the microclimate formed by solar panels helps conserve water, maintain soil stability, and protect crops from inclement weather.
Barbados' green hydrogen trifecta is a four-fold
Depending on what you count, the new “Renewstable Barbados” project involves four elements, not just three. Either way, it shows that some nations are not waiting for emerging systems like green hydrogen and agrivoltaics to mature.
Renewstable Barbados is a relatively small project, which aims to provide electricity to just , homes. However, its impact could be widespread in terms of combining energy production with food security through the agrivoltaic model.
It will consist of a -megawatt solar array with on-site green hydrogen and a lithium-ion battery storage system. It will also be home to a livestock operation described as the largest sheep farm on the island.
Hydrogen and battery storage elements also overcome the challenge of intermittent power from solar panels, which of course do not produce electricity at night.
Developers don't let the grass grow under their feet. Construction is scheduled to begin next year if all goes as planned.
Follow the money for green hydrogen
As for whether or not the Renewstable Barbados platform will be replicated elsewhere, that could already be in the cards considering the institutional muscle behind the project.
The project is under the wing of IDB Invest, which is the private sector arm of the IDB Group, which specializes in emerging markets .
“We finance projects to promote clean energy, sustainability and generate economic growth and social inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean,” explains the IDB. The firm's current portfolio consists of $ billion in assets under management for clients in countries.
Also providing assistance is the IFC (also known as the International Finance Corporation ), a member of the World Bank, which describes itself as “the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets.”
IFC has apparently been ignoring green hydrogen skeptics.