Electrochemical Energy Converters in Decentralized Power Systems

The electrochemical energy converters are described which, depending on the type, can be used both for generating electric energy and its accumulation in the form of chemical energy of active substances. An alternative scheme of the guaranteed supply of electricity and heat is considered for a region remote from the centralized energy supply but with a high potential of wind energy generation and hydrogen energy storage without using any imported or local fuel. The scheme includes a wind energy complex, i.e., a farm of wind turbines localized in sites with the high wind potential, which guarantees the electricity supply even during low wind periods. All surplus electricity is consumed in the thermoelectric heating of water in storage tanks and the hydrogen production by water electrolysis. Hydrogen is either stored or supplied to the fuel cell plant (used in windless periods or as an alternative power source) and to the hydrogen condensing boiler in heat-deficiency periods. The annual hydrogen energy balance, the necessary number of wind turbines, the parameters of the equipment scheme are calculated, and the capacity factors of the installed equipment are estimated for a real autonomous region (Novikovo village, Sakhalin island). The main prerequisites for the implementation of the alternative scheme of electricity and heat supply that uses no imported fuel but operates on wind power and electrochemically converted energy are shown.