The city's Unit 16 power plant near Box Springs Road is seen on March 3, 2021.--News Photo Collin Gallant
cgallant@medicinehatnews.comS@CollinGallant
City utility officials sunk the ceremonial shovel into natural gas-fired power plant expansion on April 22 – Earth Day – noting it would be best-in-class for emission control, but also that they are exploring the potential to use zero-emission hydrogen to generate power in the future.
“We’re very much aware of it, and it’s a space where we want to be ready to execute,” Brad Maynes, the city’s managing director of utilities, told the News.
Use of the highly combustible element as a fuel source has garnered increasing interest from government and industry in the past year.
It combines with oxygen to produce water when burned, rather than carbon dioxide with carbon-based methane, and its use in the utility sector could contribute to nations meeting increasing carbon reduction targets.
The turbine that will be delivered next fall for the city’s Unit 17 power plant is designed to run on natural gas, but industry observers believe some amount of hydrogen could be blended in the fuel mix for traditional turbines.
That would reduce greenhouse gas emissions from already improving efficient gas turbines by a further 10 per cent or more.
General Electric currently offers a dual-fuel turbine that could interchangeably burn either gas or hydrogen, though the current expansion began the design phase two years ago, and main components – a GM LM-6000 turbine worth more than $25 million – were ordered in 2020.
Equipment at the north-side power plant that was first commissioned in 2018 could be in use for decades.
Maynes also says there may be significant “potential for retrofits” to use hydrogen fuel as the technology improves in the emerging sector.
The next round of refurbishments at the city’s main river valley power station are due in the latter half of the 2020s.
As that arises, the department will evaluate options for economic and environmental impacts, he said.
As it is designed, Unit 17 is being built to integrate operations with the existing Unit 16 in a simple-cycle format, but in tandem where the heat produced will be fed back into the system to increase efficiency.
Maynes says including catalytic conversion equipment will reduce the release of nitrous oxide into the atmosphere.
“We take our responsibility to the air shed and regulations very seriously,” Maynes said.
At a meeting of world leaders on Thursday, Japanese officials announced they would increase carbon dioxide reduction goals, which is based heavily on transforming the utility sector and burning hydrogen in thermal power plants to supplement wind and solar.
CF Industries announced last fall it would aggressively get into the hydrogen market as a supplier of ammonia that can be converted back to hydrogen and nitrogen after transport.
It is currently evaluating and prioritizing new projects at plant sites in North American and the United Kingdom, and this week announced German industrial firm Thyssenkrupp would provide engineering services on its initial $400-million green ammonia project in Louisiana.
In Alberta, the province, Ottawa and industry have all put in support to developing a hydrogen production hub in the Edmonton area.
This fall, the City of Fort Saskatchewan and Atco Gas will launch a pilot program in that city to use blended amounts of hydrogen and natural gas delivered for home heating.
Medicine Hat officials are not presently considering mixing hydrogen into distribution to commercial or residential customers, but will study the results of the pilot program.
