The world’s biggest offshore wind farm, Hornsea 2, generates first power
This is great news. Wind turbines make a lot of sense for the windy UK.<p>The problem of energy storage when the wind isn't blowing, remains.<p>The energy storage section in "Sustainable Energy without the Hot Air" [1] gives a good overview of how storage could work in the UK.<p>What I don't think it covers, however, is creating hydrogen through water electrolysis, which Siemens Gamesa are looking at, even integrating the process within the turbines themselves. [2]<p>The hydrogen could be stored, or used in the UK's heating system that currently runs mostly on natural gas. There have been some pilot projects introducing a hydrogen mix into the existing gas system. [3] Lowering dependence on natural gas would be good for not only the environment, but also for energy security, thinking about the recent issue with getting gas from Russia.<p>Hydrogen-blend boilers are already on the market. I don't know how much work it would take for an 100pc hydrogen gas system. I hear there would be issues with the smaller hydrogen molecules escaping from our existing gas pipe infrastructure.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.withouthotair.com/c26/page_186.shtml" rel="nofollow">https://www.withouthotair.com/c26/page_186.shtml</a><p>[2] <a href="https://www.siemensgamesa.com/en-int/products-and-services/hybrid-and-storage/green-hydrogen" rel="nofollow">https://www.siemensgamesa.com/en-int/products-and-services/h...</a><p>[3] <a href="https://www.energynetworks.org/newsroom/hydrogen-blending-what-is-it-and-why-does-it-matter" rel="nofollow">https://www.energynetworks.org/newsroom/hydrogen-blending-wh...</a>