Green hydrogen plant will reduce energy costs

The following is a machine translation of an Arequipa Regional Government release

In the district of La Joya, a 4,000-hectare plot of land has been made available for the South African company Phelan Green Energy to install the first green hydrogen production plant in the country, with an investment of some 2.5 billion dollars, in addition to the creation of hundreds of jobs, with the consequent generation of clean energy.

According to the regional governor Rohel Sánchez Sánchez, in addition to the investment that will be made, the use of fossil fuels, such as oil, will be replaced, which will allow for a change in the energy matrix and increase the quality of life of the population and the planet itself.

WHAT IS GREEN HYDROGEN AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

Energy and Mines Manager Iván Prado explained that green hydrogen production is obtained through the use of renewable energies such as water or air, which makes it a clean, sustainable fuel with a zero pollution index that can be key, not only as an energy vector, but also as a raw material.

This energy is obtained through an electrolysis process powered by renewable energies such as wind or solar. When converted into energy, hydrogen is stored in tanks and channeled to a fuel cell. There it is combined again with oxygen from the air and electrical energy is obtained. In this way, the only residue left by the process is water; therefore, it is a clean, sustainable system and no polluting particles are emitted to produce energy.

It is a clean energy: the only waste it generates is water. It is renewable, because it uses natural resources that are not depleted; it is compressed and can be stored in tanks for a long time; therefore, it is transportable because it is a very light material.

“The production of green hydrogen is a valuable opportunity, because it will position Peru for the future, modernize the country's energy matrix to supply its domestic market and for export; in addition to the construction, installation and operation of renewable or conventional electric power generation; it will provide employment to local residents and will become one of the main economic activities in the Arequipa region,” added the official.

Likewise, the Peruvian market and the Pacific coast can be supplied with quality products such as ammonia and low-density ammonium nitrate (ANFO grade) for mining. Ammonia production in Arequipa will be carried out by applying an electrolytic process to water and the extraction of nitrogen from the air by compression, in addition to obtaining oxygen with more than 99% purity; generated as a by-product of the production of nitrates. It can be supplied for medicinal use in hospitals and health centers in southern Peru.