West Australian
Thursday 23/4/2009 Page: 32
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has laid the foundation stone for the world's first hybrid power station, generating electricity, heat and hydrogen - and all from renewable sources of energy. The plant near Prenzlau, north of Berlin, costs 21 million ($38.8 million) and is due to be up and running in a year, supplying hundreds of local households.
Wind energy is a highly intermittent power source with output varying greatly, often producing either too much power or not enough. However, the new plant gets around the problem, according to Enertrag, the German firm constructing it.
Any excess power is used to make hydrogen, which is either stored and sold to third parties as fuel or used with biomass to generate electricity when the plant is not producing enough. Excess heat produced in generating electricity is piped to local households and businesses for heating using a process called co-generation or combined heat and power.
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