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Energy Storage and Distribution: When the Wind Isn't Blowing
"To make wind power more uniform, the study shows that multiple sites could be connected through power lines to reduce the number of times of both maximum and minimum power. Changes in new and replacement energy-using devices, including automobiles, also could provide for greater power storage."
Hydrogen is not a fuel, but rather an energy carrier, like a battery. It can be electrolyzed from water with excess electricity, stored in tanks, and called upon to be transformed back into electricity when the demand shifts. Hydrogen is not, however, a very efficient energy carrier. This process is often only about 30% efficient, and should be thought of as a fallback and not a priority.
Hydrogen is NOT, however, suitable for use in vehicles. We would need to build an entire infrastructure around this, when we could use electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) with the existing infrastructure and with something like 1/3 the electricity hydrogen-powered vehicles would require.
See Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Fact Sheet for more information.
- Hydrogen FAQs some optimistic numbers, but useful info.
- Hydrogen storage technology
- Hydrogen technologies contains links to articles such as "Hydrogen as an energy carrier" and "Hydrogen from renewable sources."
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