Duke Energy will build a project to produce, store, and combust 100% green hydrogen in Florida. This groundbreaking project is a significant step towards decarbonizing the energy sector and advancing the adoption of green hydrogen technology.
The project, a collaboration between Duke, construction management and consulting firm Sargent and Lundy, and General Electric’s unit GE Vernova, will be located at Duke’s existing facilities in DeBary. Green hydrogen, produced by splitting water through electrolysis using renewable energy, is expected to play a key role in decarbonizing various industries, including transport.
Construction of the demonstration project in DeBary is expected to begin later this year and could take about one year to complete. The new system will begin with the existing 74.5-megawatt (MW) DeBary solar plant providing clean energy for two 1-MW electrolyzer units. The electrolyzers will split water into hydrogen and oxygen, with the hydrogen stored in on-site tanks.
The stored hydrogen can then be combusted in a GE Vernova gas turbine to generate electricity, or blended with natural gas and combusted in a combined-cycle power plant to improve efficiency and reduce emissions. The project will also demonstrate the feasibility of using green hydrogen to power industrial processes and fuel heavy-duty vehicles.
Duke Energy’s green hydrogen project is a major milestone in the development of this promising clean energy technology. The project’s success will pave the way for the deployment of large-scale green hydrogen production and storage facilities across the United States and the world.
