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Using solar energy to produce hydrogen
Hydrogen has great promise as a sustainable future fuel, and APS is actively exploring energy opportunities associated with hydrogen. An exciting example of this is the APS Hydrogen Park, which uses solar panels to convert water to hydrogen, which is stored for fuel use.
The APS Hydrogen Park was the first commercial hydrogen motor vehicle refueling station in Arizona. The park was permitted to fuel hydrogen motor vehicles in March, 2002. Located in the downtown Phoenix historic district, the park provides an example of modern fueling infrastructure integrated with urban architecture. Hydrogen, CNG (compressed natural gas), CHyNG (blends of hydrogen and CNG), and "fast charge" BEV (battery electric vehicle) motor vehicle fueling are all available at the Hydrogen Park fuel dispensers.
The Hydrogen Park provides a "real world" working laboratory to evaluate the safety and economics of using energy stored in hydrogen as a fuel for motor vehicles and distributed electric generation. Collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy, APS explores the opportunities using hydrogen to perform its role in Arizona and meet the national goal for energy security. The APS Hydrogen Park has hosted numerous tours since it began operations. Our interest in hydrogen stems from the national goal for energy security and sustainability, as well as reduction in air emissions from vehicle travel.
Approximately 16,000 fueling events have occurred since the station began operation and there have been no safety incidents. Hydrogen system availability has been above 99 percent. Over 10,000 kg of 99.9997 pure hydrogen (equivalent to 10,000 gallons of gasoline) have been produced from 24,000 gallons of water, and about 24 million pounds of oxygen has been released into the downtown Phoenix air.
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