Securing renewable energy supplies through carbon dioxide storage in methanol

Renewable energy will undoubtedly be required to make a significant contribution to electricity supply in the future as fossil fuel reserves are depleted and concerns about the environment increase. The inherent sustainability and low carbon dioxide (CO/sub 2/) emissions of renewable energy technologies additionally provide the necessary features of a future energy policy goals, however, there are a number of technical and operational problems limiting large scale integration into the conventional electricity network. The most abundant renewable energy resources come from intermittent, often unpredictable and nondespatchable sources such as wind, solar and wave. The integration of such variable power sources into the electricity grid network make the control of strict voltage and frequency limits and the security of supply through reserve capacity management difficult. To secure the contribution of renewables in future electricity supply a novel method of storing renewable energy through electrolytic hydrogen production converted into methanol incorporating CO/sub 2/ sequestration is being proposed. This method provides a solution to the integration problems through absorbing the variable out put, producing a readily storable and transportable fuel and further contributing to carbon dioxide emissions reductions.