HDF Energy breaks ground on world’s largest green hydrogen-power project – Launches project in Africa
After a successful financial close, French hydrogen technologies developer HDF Energy, investment fund Meridiam and petroleum operator SARA, has started construction of a solar park with batteries and 16 MW of electrolysers for green hydrogen production in French Guiana, ready to be deployed to Africa.
The CEOG Renewstable Power Plant project is set to create a baseload renewable energy facility using hydrogen technology, HDF said on Wednesday. The complex will be capable of storing 128 MWh of power using long-term hydrogen storage and batteries for short-term storage.
To make the technology available in Africa, in 2021, HDF has established a satellite office in South Africa, employing locally, to offer the HDF Renewstable solution to the Southern and Eastern African regions.
“This is part of my mandate to make available HDF’s Renewstable solution to utilities and private consumers in Africa. This enables us to support their electrical grid and electricity needs, contributing to their decarbonisation goals, with non-intermittent green electricity,” Nicolas Lecomte, Director: Southern Africa of HDF Energy said.
Representing a total investment of US$200 million, CEOG is an optimised combination of a solar park, a hydrogen long-term energy storage and a battery (short-term energy storage) to produce 24/7 baseload power.
“CEOG demonstrates that HDF Renewstable solution addresses a very large market being all the grids currently powered by fossil fuel power plants. By supplying non-intermittent renewable energy, CEOG – which we are already replicating across the world – opens a new era for renewable energies,” Damien Havard, CEO of HDF Energy said.
The power plant, designed and developed by HDF, will supply 100% renewable, stable and dispatchable power to 10 000 households at a lower cost than the diesel power plant, but without emitting any greenhouse gas, fine particle, noise or fumes.
A Renewstable power plant produces electricity using local sources of clean energy to fully sustain the local needs, reducing exposure to oil price volatility, supply risks, and saving foreign exchange.
It is the first time that a renewable energy project supplies a grid through a capacity-based Power Purchase Agreement, usually used for thermal power plants. This type of electricity offtake contract guarantees the availability and stability of the electricity produced by CEOG. This last characteristic is essential for powering isolated grids or reducing congestion on large networks.
CEOG is currently being duplicated in about 20 countries such as Mexico, Caribbean Island nations, Southern Africa, Indonesia and Australia. The most mature part of this pipeline represents US$1.5 billion US$ of investment. Competitive with diesel power plants, the Renewstable power plant addresses a large power generation market. HDF has already identified a pipeline of US$3 billion.
