The challenge of converting wind energy into hydrogen and then to electricity was one of the key items on the agenda of the fourth meeting in the BSPC Working Group on Green Growth and Energy Efficiency, which was held in Berlin on 12 October.
The WG made a study tour to a hybrid power plant in Prenzlau operated by ENERTRAG. The power company operates 500 wind-turbines in Germany, France and the UK. One of the tasks of ENERTRAG is to convert and store wind energy so it can be used flexibly when and where it is needed. For this purpose the company is developing technology to transform wind energy into hydrogen. The hybrid power plant in Prenzlau/Brandenburg is a pilot project for this purpose . Similar projects are on-going in other countries, including Norway and Iceland where some hydrogen stations have been established, but using other renewable energy sources.
The WG was also provided with presentations on the German energy transition by Olaf Weber, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, and Roman Zurhold, the German Energy Agency.
The WG meeting was hosted by WG member Torsten Staffeldt, German Bundestag.
The fifth meeting of the WG will be convened in Bergen, Norway, in the first quarter of 2013.