Enel SpA (ENEL.MI) Monday said it opened the world's first hydrogen-run power plant as the Italian utility beefs up its green credentials ahead of the planned multibillion-euro sale of its renewables unit set for the fall.
Enel SpA (ENEL.MI) Monday said it opened the world's first hydrogen-run
power plant as the Italian utility beefs up its green credentials ahead of the
planned multibillion-euro sale of its renewables unit set for the fall.
The new plant located in Fusina, a short distance from
Venice
, has
an overall generation capacity of 16 megawatts. The electricity produced from
the facility is sufficient to meet the yearly needs of roughly 20,000
households. Enel's investments in the plant was about EUR50 million.
"This type of plant can be exported in those areas where there are
chemical plants nearby," Chief Executive Fulvio Conti said at the
inauguration of the facility. "This is a showcase of the development of
renewables."
The plant uses hydrogen produced mainly as a byproduct from the nearby
petrochemicals site of Porto Marghera. This way Enel has managed to solve one of
the biggest headaches for hydrogen: access to the clean fuel without having to
use large amounts of energy to produce it.
The Rome-based company plans to sell a minority stake in Enel Green Power SpA
later in the year, and has penciled in October as the date for the initial
public offering. The renewables energy unit is seen valued at more than EUR12
billion.
Enel is boosting the green operations of its unit as it aims to take advantage
of a bonanza in the sector. Later in the week, Enel will inaugurate in
Sicily
a new
pilot plant that uses a new solar power technology to generate electricity.
Hydrogen is gaining popularity in the renewables industry as energy players
look for ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. In
California
, BP
PLC (BP) is planning a hydrogen joint venture with a capacity of 400MW.
The Fusina plant uses 1.3 metric tons of hydrogen an hour in its generation. It
buys the hydrogen from Eni SpA (E).
However, hydrogen as a source to generate electricity is still uncompetitive with
traditional hydrocarbons, costing for example about five times more than power
produced from coal.
"Today's technology still doesn't allow us to generate electricity at an
advantageous cost," said Enel's CEO. Conti said the world is likely to
wait "decades" before hydrogen can become competitive.
Enel's decision to invest in the Fusina plant, which is the first
industrial-scale facility of its kind, was taken in part to allow its engineers
to test hydrogen technology and gain expertise.
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