SUMMARY:
Without
considering
the cost:
There are major
technical issues about
using hydrogen energy
for decarbonizing the world,
let alone the United States.
Example:
Hydrogen embrittlement
and damage to
existing copper pipelines.
it’s obvious that hydrogen
is not a realistic solution
for decarbonizing the world,
DETAILS:
Steel can't be produced
unless the coal is
replaced by hydrogen.
Limestone gives off CO2
when used to produce
cement.
Remember that
natural gas,
( aka methane, or CH4 ),
is a greenhouse gas.
natural gas,
( aka methane, or CH4 ),
is a greenhouse gas.
Using electrolysis
to extract hydrogen
from water, is the
most likely process.
Producing hydrogen
requires large quantities
of electricity.
New power plants
will have to be built to
generate the required
amount of electricity.
The electricity would
normally come from
natural gas.
The required
total capacity
required to generate
enough electricity
to produce the hydrogen
required to decarbonize
the United States
is 2,270,759
Megawatts.
That is nearly
twice the existing
generating capacity
serving the country
right now !
Over one-million MW
of new generating capacity
would have to be built.
According to
the Department
of Energy (DOE),
it would require
around 1,800
new nuclear
power plants
to supply
the electricity
needed for
producing all the
hydrogen needed.
DOE estimates that
a 1,000 megawatt
nuclear power plant
could produce
200,000 tons
of hydrogen per year,
but we would need
over 397,000,000
tons of hydrogen
to decarbonize
the United States !