Central America's first hydrogen fuel cell bus hits the road

GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA – Just off a quiet road amid sparsely wooded fields are four rows of solar panels and a single wind turbine. The power they generate is sent a few feet away to a small-scale hydrogen production and storage plant, a cluster of structures and tanks surrounded by a chain-link fence. Next to that is a sleek digital dispenser with a gas-station style hose to deliver the compressed hydrogen to a vehicle.

Hydrogen fuel cell bus ‘Nyuti’ at the hydrogen dispenser. 

Specifically, it’s a boxy 35-passenger bus called “Nyuti” (which means “star” in the local Chorotega indigenous language) that sits in the adjacent parking lot. This is Central America’s first hydrogen transportation “ecosystem” and, seven years after the effort to introduce hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in Costa Rica began, Nyuti is taking to the road.

Read Robin Kazmier’s Yale Climate Connections story - “Central America's first hydrogen fuel cell bus hits the road.”

Virtual power plants are in vogue, but they can be like taking a sledgehammer to a nut

The fleet of small-scale solar systems, batteries and flexible loads in our electricity system will grow rapidly in coming years. But how to coordinate them efficiently in our complex electricity grid, and how to make sure their owners get a fair return?

Sculpture-like solar panels near the Adelaide Festival
Centre, Adelaide, South Australia, SA, Australia.

Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) are the talk of the town right now. But they may turn out to be like using a sledgehammer on a walnut. More nuanced systems are being developed to integrate large numbers of small-scale solar systems and batteries into the grid. If successful, they will be able to apply market principles to deploy and reward these so-called distributed energy resources.

Read the piece on The Conversation - “Virtual power plants are in vogue, but they can be like taking a sledgehammer to a nut.”

Small-scale solar cutting billions from electricity bills

Small-scale solar systems have cut wholesale electricity costs by up to half in the past 12 months, a study has shown.

Small solar PV systems are estimated to have generated
1540 gigawatt hours of power within NSW over a 12-month period. 

The report by consulting firm Energy Synapse, commissioned by a community-based organisation Solar Citizens Australia, found solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in NSW had saved consumers up to $2.2 billion from May 2016 to April 2017.

During this period, small solar PV systems are estimated to have generated 1540 gigawatt hours of power within the state.

The report says the volume-weighted average price of wholesale electricity would have been between $29 and $44 per megawatt hour higher than the actual average price for the period of $88 per megawatt hour.

Read Cole Latimer’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Small-scale solar cutting billions from electricity bills.”