Western Australia (WA) government-owned utility Horizon Power has commissioned a demonstration plant that will utilise solar and green hydrogen generation and storage to provide 526 MWh of dispatchable renewable electricity per annum to help power the small tourist town of Denham, 820 kilometres north of Perth.
The $9.3 million (USD 6.2 million) Denham Hydrogen Demonstration Plant will test the technological and commercial viability of green hydrogen as a baseload power source.
The integrated system includes a 704 kW solar farm, a 348 kW hydrogen electrolyzer with accompanying hydrogen compression and storage system, and a 100 kW fuel cell which can be used to deliver electricity when it is needed.
Designed and built by Hybrid Systems Australia in partnership with fellow Pacific Energy subsidiary ENGV, the plant is connected to the Denham hybrid power station system which has been powered by a combination of diesel and wind.