Renewable Energy Hub – Integrating solar, batteries, electric vehicles and hydrogen
Source: David Dodge · GREEN ENERGY FUTURES · | May 26, 2021
On the road to zero-emissions
Is it better to focus on solar, battery storage, electric vehicles, or hydrogen? That’s the question Dr. Walter Mérida a researcher with the University of British Columbia wants to answer with their recently announced $23 million Renewable Energy Hub.
“Well, given the fact that we have two or three decades to make a difference. I don’t think this is an either-or situation. This is an all-of-the-above situation. We need to explore all possible options,” says Mérida.
The new renewable energy hub will occupy a full city block of land and it will integrate one megawatt of solar with battery storage, a bi-directional electric vehicle charging system and a hydrolysis unit that will use solar energy to produce hydrogen.
The hub will even have a hydrogen refueling station for hydrogen vehicles.
The solar will be installed on a parking garage with space dedicated for electric vehicles.
Electric Vehicles – combine them for a city-scale battery
“We are taking as many electric vehicles as we can and aggregating them into that single parking building and delivering this solar energy to the cars. The energy will be delivered to a reversible energy management system in such a way that the cars can be charged in one part of the cycle, but they can also deliver power back to the grid in another part of the cycle,” says Mérida.
The future is not solar, energy storage, electric vehicles or hydrogen it’s a strategically optimized integrated combination of solutions.