2024-03-03 04:08:25
To make all our electricity sustainable, gas-fired power stations must make the switch to hydrogen. But the two largest owners of such power stations warn that the conversion is barely getting started. Cabinet plans to subsidize the switch have recently been scrapped.
Op een druilerige donderdag staat de Maximacentrale in Lelystad flink te draaien. Er is weinig zon en wind, dus gascentrales als deze zijn nodig om Nederland van voldoende stroom te voorzien. Harry Talen van de Franse energiegigant Engie wijst naar een rubberen rand op de grond. Die scheidt de fundering onder de generator van die onder de rest van het gebouw. “Anders trilt gewoon het hele gebouw kapot.”
Deze centrale draait nu op aardgas, maar hij is als enige in Nederland al geschikt om ook 50 procent waterstof te verbranden. Daarmee zou de CO2-uitstoot flink omlaag kunnen, maar er is één groot probleem: de benodigde duurzame waterstof is er nog niet. Sterker nog, er ligt nog niet eens een waterstofleiding naar de centrale toe. Het is niet duidelijk wanneer die er wel komt.
Engie stak tientallen miljoenen in de upgrade naar waterstof. “Omdat wij graag een voorloper willen zijn in de energietransitie”, aldus Talen. Maar het bedrijf heeft nog niet eens kunnen testen of de centrale het wel doet op waterstof.
“De turbinefabrikant die dit voor ons heeft ingebouwd, heeft natuurlijk wel bewijs moeten laten zien dat het daadwerkelijk werkt”, zegt Talen. “Maar fysiek testen met 50 procent waterstof kan nog niet, simpelweg omdat de waterstof er nog niet is. Dat soort hoeveelheden kun je ook niet per vrachtwagen vervoeren. Je moet een aansluiting hebben op het landelijke waterstofnet.”
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Subsidy is cancelled
It shows that there is still a long way to go before all our electricity is actually produced without CO2 emissions. The government wants this to happen by 2035, following advice from scientists. Most of the power will then come directly from solar panels and wind turbines, or from batteries in the evening and at night.
But there will also be periods when we cannot get enough power from it, especially in the dark winter months. Gas-fired power stations will then have to run on a sustainable fuel such as hydrogen. Produced with clean electricity, or from natural gas with technology to capture CO2.
The question is not only whether we will soon have enough hydrogen, and whether there are pipelines to all power stations, but also whether the stations can use that hydrogen. They will only be needed for a few hours per year, making it unattractive for companies to invest a lot in the conversion.
To do something about this, the government set aside 1 billion euros in the Climate Fund to help gas-fired power stations make the switch. But in January wrote outgoing climate minister Rob Jetten told the House of Representatives that this subsidy cannot go ahead after all, because it would conflict with European rules for state aid. It is not sufficiently clear whether this really saves CO2.
Natural gas remains cheaper
“If you help pay for the conversion of such a plant, it remains the case that the hydrogen you have to put in is more expensive than natural gas,” explains Jesse Hettema of Aurora Energy Research. “So it will probably still be standing still for most of the time. Because it is much cheaper to run with natural gas abroad, or because the competition within the Netherlands is too great.”
Hettema’s research agency examined the options for switching Dutch gas-fired power stations to hydrogen. Conclusion: the power stations (also) need a subsidy for every hour that they run on hydrogen. In this way, the government can reimburse the difference with the costs of running on natural gas and ensure that CO2 emissions really go down.
Jetten now also acknowledges that such a subsidy is necessary, but leaves its details to the next cabinet. In the meantime, the owners of gas power stations continue to wait for clarity.
The German RWE also believes that clarity should be provided “in the short term” about making gas-fired power stations more sustainable. The company, which has four such power stations in the Netherlands, calls for “clear, stable policy” that is in line with developments in Germany. In any case, a subsidy will be needed to make the switch to hydrogen, according to a company spokesperson.
Pay for backup
Neighboring countries such as Belgium and the United Kingdom have set up a system in which electricity producers receive an annual fixed payment if they can supply electricity on demand. It ensures that gas power stations – and in the future also hydrogen power stations – remain profitable when they only have to run for a few hours.
Thanks to this system, new gas-fired power stations are also under construction across the border, which should later be able to switch to hydrogen. “We believe in that too,” says Talen. His company Engie wants to build a hybrid gas power plant in Nijmegen, but does not expect to be able to make a profit from it at the moment. To achieve this, the market must be fundamentally overhauled.
According to Hettema, the Belgian system can indeed ensure a more stable electricity market. It costs a lot of money every year to pay the fixed fee to the power stations, but you prevent the risk of shortages and temporary peaks in the price of electricity. “The question is how much you are willing to pay to prevent such shortages.”
Jetten wrote to the House last year that he will calculate with experts whether it is beneficial for the Netherlands to introduce a comparable system. The answer will follow soon, says a spokesperson. But the actual choice will be up to the next cabinet.
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