Duke Energy Florida has unveiled its DeBary hydrogen production storage system in Volusia County, the first demonstration project in the United States capable of using an end-to-end system to produce, store and combust up to 100% green hydrogen.
From Duke Energy Florida’s existing DeBary solar site, which provides energy for two electrolyser units producing oxygen and hydrogen, oxygen is released into the atmosphere, while the green hydrogen is delivered to reinforced containers for safe storage.
When energy demand is highest, the system can deliver the stored green hydrogen to an existing combustion turbine that has been upgraded – using GE Vernova technology – to run on a blend of natural gas and hydrogen or up to 100% hydrogen. This process makes the natural gas turbines more flexible and diversifies Duke Energy Florida’s generation fleet in support of the expansion of renewable energy.
Because the green hydrogen is an on-demand source of energy, the turbines can be turned on and off at any time, independently of the time of day or the weather, making it a good match with intermittent, renewable energy sources such as solar.
“Diverse generation is strong, reliable generation,” said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president. “The DeBary hydrogen project underscores Duke Energy Florida’s … commitment to making strategic infrastructure investments that will allow us to continue providing value for our customers while meeting their rapidly increasing demand for energy.”
Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 12 300 MW of energy capacity, supplying 2 million customers across a 13 000-square-mile service area in Florida.
