Remote offshore wind parks in Germany should deliver green hydrogen and electricity – consultancy

Offshore wind parks located far away from Germany’s coast would be more profitable if they produce green hydrogen to send to the mainland by pipeline as well as having a direct electricity connection, according to a consultancy report seen by business daily Handelsblatt. An alliance of companies and research institutes pushing for hydrogen production at sea named Aqua Ventus commissioned energy consultancy E-Bridge to analyse the use of electricity from the wind park zones furthest from the coast directly on site for hydrogen production by electrolysis, and sending the renewable fule to the shore by pipeline.

The analysis found that operators could optimise their activity and revenues if they produced both electricity and hydrogen on site. This was mainly because the electricity would still have to be fed into the grid with only a power grid connection – even at low or negative electricity prices, the authors said. In combination with hydrogen electrolysis, however, additional flexibility would be created. Electricity that is not sold due to low prices c0uld then be used to produce green hydrogen. In such phases, the power cable could even be used to draw electricity from the grid to power the electrolysers. There is a cost advantage even when initial investments to build the grid connection or hydrogen pipelines are considered, said the report.

In Germany, however, such combined solutions are excluded by law, said Handelsblatt. Connecting offshore wind parks to the mainland grid is costly, especially at distances of more than 300 kilometres, as is the case with the wind parks E-Bridge assessed. The Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) has said that connecting Germany’s offshore wind parks to the grid would require investments of about 170 billion euros, wrote Handelsblatt.