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4G光元:1980年代上网的亚利桑那州三反应器核电厂的管理者就开始研究生产氢的可行性，氢可作为天然气的一部分用于未来能源。 预期的氢产物在可再生能源的间歇时间，通过燃料电池发电，提高可再生能源的可利用性，这意味着在春季和秋季的温和天气中不需要大量的Palo Verde电力生产。 
照片显示了位于亚利桑那州温特斯堡的帕洛维德核电站的三个装置之一。
亚利桑那州报道，正在为帕洛佛得角核电站探索的想法是，利用位于凤凰城西部沙漠中的工厂的季节性剩余电力，将水分离为氧气和氢气。
天然气的用途可能包括为燃料电池汽车和卡车供电或向附近的天然气发电厂供电。
预期产生的氢气可以增加了太阳能的可用性，这意味着在温和的春季和秋季天气中，Palo Verde的电力生产与夏季西南空气调节器全开时所需的电力一样不多。
凤凰城以西50英里（80公里）的工厂已获准运行至2040年代，但官员们表示，他们将需要发挥创造力，以使其发展持续甚至更长的时间。
亚利桑那州公共服务公司Palo Verde现场运营高级副总裁Jack Cadogan表示：“有时候，由于Palo Verde和所有太阳能的使用，我们最终仍会产生更多的能源。”
总部位于凤凰城的APS管理着该工厂，并且是最大的共同所有者。 其他包括盐河项目，埃尔帕索电气公司，南加州爱迪生公司，PNM资源公司，南加州公共电力管理局和洛杉矶水电局。
APS官员正在与爱达荷州国家实验室合作，研究在Palo Verde附近安装氢气发生器的经济可行性。 到2021年，可以在核电站附近建造一个小型测试设施。
总部位于俄亥俄州的FirstEnergy Solutions和总部位于明尼阿波利斯的Xcel Energy也参与了美国能源部对核电站和氢的研究。
APS和其他公用事业公司计划为其系统增加大量的太阳能，最终将促使Palo Verde在温和的天气下关闭或以部分容量运行。
卡多根说：“我们知道那只会随着时间的流逝而增长。” “我们正在努力计划如何使Palo Verde更加灵活，使其仍然成为我们在亚利桑那州和整个西南沙漠中清洁空气能源结构的基础或基石？我们确实确实需要适应不断变化的环境。 ”
卡多根说，能源部采用氢概念来接近APS。
他说：“他们就这一问题来找我们，说，看来您在使用太阳能捏核方面有一个独特的问题。” “我们说，'我们愿意。'”
与其他使用河流或海洋水进行冷却的核电站不同，Palo Verde使用的是凤凰城五个城市拥有的污水处理厂的再生废水。
根据2010年续签并持续至2050年的协议，这些城市将再生水出售给帕洛维德。
Future of Arizona nuclear plant may see hydrogen production
|November 2, 2019
FILE - This Oct. 31, 2007, file photo shows one of the three units of the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Wintersburg, Ariz. Managers of the three-reactor Arizona nuclear plant that went online in the 1980s are exploring whether production of hydrogen gas for use as an energy source will be part of its future. The contemplated product of hydrogen stems from the fact that increased availability of solar power means Palo Verde’s electricity production isn’t needed as much during mild weather during the spring and fall. Photo: Ross D. Franklin, AP / Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Photo: Ross D. Franklin, AP
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FILE - This Oct. 31, 2007, file photo shows one of the three units of the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Wintersburg, Ariz. Managers of the three-reactor Arizona nuclear plant that went online in the ... more PHOENIX (AP) — Managers of a three-reactor nuclear plant that went online in the 1980s are exploring whether production of hydrogen gas will be part of its future.
An idea being explored for the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station is to use seasonally surplus electricity from the plant located in the desert west of Phoenix to separate water into oxygen and hydrogen gas, the Arizona Republic reports .
Uses for the gas could include powering fuel-cell cars and trucks or providing to nearby natural-gas plants that generate electricity.
The contemplated production of hydrogen stems from the fact that increased availability of solar power means Palo Verde's electricity production isn't needed as much during mild spring and fall weather as during the summer when air conditioners run full throttle in the Southwest.
The plant 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Phoenix is licensed to run into the 2040s, but officials said they will need to get creative to keep it going that long, or beyond.
'Some days we still end up with more energy being produced because of Palo Verde and all that solar than what we can really use,' said Jack Cadogan, senior vice president of site operations at Palo Verde for Arizona Public Service Co.
Phoenix-based APS manages the plant and is the largest co-owner. Others are Salt River Project, El Paso Electric Co., Southern California Edison, PNM Resources, Southern California Public Power Authority and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
APS officials are working with Idaho National Laboratory to research the economic feasibility of having a hydrogen generator near Palo Verde. A small test facility could be built near the nuclear plant in 2021.
Ohio-based FirstEnergy Solutions and Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy also are participating in aspects of the U.S. Energy Department's research into nuclear plants and hydrogen. APS and other utilities plan to add substantial amounts of solar to their systems, and that eventually will prompt Palo Verde to either shut down or run at partial capacity during mild weather.
'We know that will only grow over time,' Cadogan said. 'We are trying to project how do we make Palo Verde more flexible to still be the anchor point or cornerstone of our clean-air energy mix in Arizona and the whole desert Southwest? We really do need to fit into the environment that is changing.'
Cardogan said the Energy Department approached APS with the hydrogen concept.
'They came to us on this one and said, it seems like you have a unique issue with solar kind of pinching nuclear,' he said. 'We said, 'We do.''
Unlike other nuclear plants that use water from a river or the ocean for cooling, Palo Verde uses reclaimed wastewater from a treatment plant owned by five Phoenix-area cities.
The cities sell the reclaimed water to Palo Verde under an agreement that was renewed in 2010 and runs through 2050.
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