The economic feasibility study of a 100-MW Power-to-Gas plant

• Main Authors: Miao, Bin, Chan, Siew Hwa
• Other Authors: Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering; Power to Gas; Methanation
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/151141
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Power-to-Gas (PtG) is a grid-scale energy storage technology by which electricity is converted into gas fuel as an energy carrier. PtG utilizes surplus renewable electricity to generate hydrogen from Solid-Oxide-Cell, and the hydrogen is then combined with CO2 in the Sabatier process to produce the methane. The transportation of methane is mature and energy-efficient within the existing natural gas pipeline or town gas network. Additionally, it is ideal to make use of the reverse function of SOC, the Solid-Oxide-Fuel-Cell, to generate electricity when the grid is weak in power. This study estimated the cost of building a hypothetical 100-MW PtG power plant with energy storage and power generation capabilities. The emphasis is on the effects of SOC cost, fuel cost and capacity factor to the Levelized Cost of Energy of the PtG plant. The net present value of the plant is analyzed to estimate the lowest affordable contract price to secure a positive present value. Besides, the plant payback period and CO2 emission are estimated.