1. Achieving California's Renewable Energy Goals
Power-to-Gas
Achieving California's Renewable Energy Goals

2. research, development, & demonstration
SoCalGas RD&D
research, development, & demonstration
Three portfolios:
Gas Operations – How do we move and store gas safely and efficiently
Customer End-Use – How can our customers use gas more efficiently with less emissions
Low Carbon Resources – How can producers make gas with renewably with less carbon content
Goal to commercialize new technologies that benefit our ratepayers

3. Low Carbon Resources RD&D

4. ACHIEVING California’s renewable energy goals
Power-to-Gas
ACHIEVING California’s renewable energy goals

5. Renewable Energy Goals
33% by 2020
50% by 2030
100% by 2050?
We are on target to meet the 2020 goal.
The State is considering a 100% requirement right now.
California is a Solar State:
32% of California’s renewable power came from solar
460 of the 490MW of pending renewable projects are solar
Source: California Energy Commission – Tracking Progress, 2016 5

6. Supply / Demand Mismatch
The Famous California “Duck Curve”
More solar leads to a supply/demand mismatch
California curtailed 80 GWh of renewables in March of 2017
Over-generation can lead to grid congestion or “curtailment” 6

7. Curtailment of Renewable Power is Here Today
Source: California Independent System Operator (CAISO)

8. CA Needs Energy Storage

9. What is Power-to-Gas (P2G)
P2G is the process of converting excess renewable energy to a gaseous fuel (hydrogen or methane).
P2G allows for storing large amounts of energy for long durations.
P2G can help California reach its Renewable Energy goals.
excess
renewable energy
goes through
electrolysis
which splits
water molecules to produce hydrogen
hydrogen & carbon combine through methanation
methane can be stored
or transported on the pipeline
hydrogen can also
be stored directly
in the pipeline
Here’s how power-to-gas works.
Rather than losing the excess electricity that is generated from wind and solar fields, we combine it with water and put it through electrolysis.
The electrolysis process converts the electrical energy into chemical energy and splits the molecules into pure Hydrogen and Oxygen. The Oxygen bi-product can be sold and used for other applications—such as healthcare.
The hydrogen gas can be used as a fuel. Or, some of it can be stored in our existing pipelines. Or, we can combine the Hydrogen with CO2 and run it through the process of methanization to create methane—and store this renewable energy in our natural gas pipeline.
Here’s another great aspect of this process. The CO2 can be supplied through carbon capture technologies—so CO2 emissions from industrial plants that would normally be released into the air can be repurposed in this process to form clean, renewable natural gas. Again, we have a case of doubling the environmental benefit.
The clean, renewable methane produced through the power-to-gas process can be stored in our existing pipeline system for use when people need it. That means the infrastructure is already in place to store and deliver the renewable energy.
10% of our methane demand can be met through power to gas. On top of the potential sourcing from biogas, that means between 50%-60% of our natural gas supply can be generated through renewable resources.

10. P2G Provides Seasonal Storage

11. P2G Creates Flexibility
The multiple pathways envisioned un power-to-gas provide flexibility

12. GERMANY A vision of what’s possible 114 million homes.
GERMANY’S RENEWABLE ENERGY STORAGE
Potential for electrolysis
is estimated at up to 170GW
which could power
114 million homes.
The EU shows us what’s possible with power-to-gas.
Over the past decade, Germany experienced a severe shortage of transmission capacity to deliver its growing renewable generation. At one point, they were having to pay other countries to take their excess renewable electricity! They turned to power-to-gas as a solution.
A new report on the “Commercialisation of Energy Storage in Europe” showed that in Germany alone, the renewable energy storage potential for electrolysis is estimated at up to 170GW—that’s enough to power 114 million homes!
That’s about 100x the capacity of the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) goal for the state’s big 3 investor-owned utilities to procure 1.3 GW (gigawatts) of energy storage by 2020.
The point is—this technology exists and is being used.
In California, we need to think differently to spark these kinds of innovation. Germany’s approach is one we can learn from—they are not thinking about the electric and gas systems separately; rather, they are investing in and managing the country’s total energy system. This holistic approach is allowing them to create efficiencies and find practical ways to increase their use of renewables.
SOURCE: “Commercialisation of Energy Storage in Europe”, funded by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU)
Source: Commercialisation of Energy Storage in Europe, 2014

13. SoCalGas RD&D
OUR WORK ON P2G

14. UC Irvine P2G Simulation
Simulation shows dramatic increase in solar utilization
Today:
3.5% Renewable Energy Integration
With P2G:
35.31% Renewable Energy Integration
With UCI researchers, we studied how using P2G could support more renewable deployment

15. UC Irvine P2G Demo 60kW Proton OnSite Electrolyzer
On-campus Pipeline Blending
NGCC Power Production

16. Biomethanation CH4 CO2 Archaea Renewable Hydrogen Renewable Methane
Water Electrolysis
CO2
Carbon Dioxide

17. Co-electrolysis Cell
CH4

18. Matt Gregori mgregori@semprautilities.com
Thank you
Matt Gregori