Chinese coal miner Baofeng Energy announced that it has started construction of the world's largest solar-powered hydrogen plant in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
According to the company, two 100 MW solar plants and a hydrogenation station will be installed. The US$199 million project is expected to produce 160 million cubic meters of hydrogen each year, in addition to another 80 million cubic meters of oxygen.
Boafeng Energy also said that using photovoltaics to power the facility will save 254 tons of coal consumption annually, leading to a 445-ton reduction in carbon emissions.
The plant is expected to be completed later this year, with hydrogen production to begin in 2021.
Importance of renewables
Although it is a coal mining company, the Chinese company looked to solar energy as an alternative to move away from the emission of fossil fuels.
Traditional hydrogen production uses a process called electrolysis, which uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. To make this process even cleaner, many look to renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, to power the electrolysis process, resulting in what they call “green hydrogen.”
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