The Hydrogen Assisted Renewable Power (HARP) system is a demonstration project to determine the feasibility of storing excess renewable energy in remote communities to reduce the reliance on diesel generators.
In collaboration with BC Hydro and General Electric, Powertech, a BC Hydro subsidiary, provided the consulting services, equipment testing and evaluation for this project.
The HARP system is designed to store excess electricity from the run-of-river generators at Clayton Falls. Two methods are used to store the electricity. In the first method hydrogen is produced through electrolysis, which is then stored as gas in high pressure tanks.
The second method uses an electrochemical regenerative fuel cell, known as the flow battery, to store the energy. During the peak periods the stored hydrogen is fed into a 100kW fuel cell to generate electricity. At the same time, the flow battery produces 100kW of electricity directly to the community. Together, these two generators reduce the requirement for diesel generation.
GE provided the Microgrid Controller to wirelessly monitor the supply and demand of renewable energy, as well as the advanced optimization and management software to allow the Controller to optimize grid operations to efficiently manage the energy.
To learn more about our engineering and consulting services, please contact us.
Our Partners:
