Home World Urgent Green Hydrogen Project in the DR

Urgent Green Hydrogen Project in the DR

The Dominican Republic is the country with the highest consumption of fossil fuel derivatives in the entire Central American and Caribbean region. It does not produce crude oil and barely processes 25% to 30% in the state refinery (Refidomsa). It is preparing to achieve an “energy mix” with a large percentage of clean energy in compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the Cop26 climate summit in Paris.

However, today in terms of electricity and transport, the main energy sources continue to be coal and derivatives of fossil fuels. As in transportation (air, sea, and land). That is why it is time to explore the technology of the future, Green Hydrogen, and thus not be left behind.

Countries in the Latin American region such as Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica and Argentina are venturing into H2V to advance the use of clean energy.

Problem.The Republic has in its energy strategy to reach 25% or 30% from renewable sources in 2030 and is expanding the mix with clean energy, but still has no plan to introduce Green Hydrogen H2V

.

The Dominican Republic is not a producer of crude oil or derivatives of fossil fuels, however, it is the largest consumer of hydrocarbons in the entire Central American and Caribbean region.

According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Mipymes (MICM), just before the Covid-19 pandemic, in January-May 2019 in the Caribbean country the monthly average in millions of gallons of consumption of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) it was 40, 214, 868.

In the case of premium gasoline, the monthly average in millions of gallons was 19,670,972, and in regular gasoline 14,609,142 million gallons, and 222,232,111 million gallons of regular diesel oil which, in total with other fuels, consumption average for the first five months of 2019 was 624,312,847 million gallons.

Currently, the largest energy generation is produced with coal and there is interest in changing it to natural gas in the future, an investment that, in addition to being expensive, the country does not produce gas internally either and must be imported.

Russia’s war in Ukraine has laid bare the need for countries to produce for self-consumption.

 

General objective.Execution in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and the support of the Government with public incentive and follow-up policies to obtain financial resources from IFC multilateral entities such as the World Bank itself and the Green Fund of the European Union.

Define the percentage that will be decarbonized and the time that the pilot will last to achieve that goal.

A pilot in the Pedernales Tourism Development Project would be ideal, given that the area is semi-arid, it is the seventh largest in terms of territory and can progress according to the progress of the project, which has been scheduled for 11 years and will be the first eco sustainable.

 

Specific goal.Generate interest in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to develop a pilot in the Pedernales Tourism Development Plan, which is currently prioritized by the Dominican Government to promote a new model of low-density sustainable luxury tourism, given the fragility of the area that It has between 66% and 68% protected area.

In other words, it is an area that, in addition to mining, is rich in nature, but over the years it has been part of the most impoverished in terms of income.

In Cabo Rojo, Pedernales, a province located in the south of the Dominican Republic, which borders Haiti and is being developed to become the first low-density sustainable luxury destination due to its fragility and location of important protected areas and a wind source with two parks such as Los Cocos and Larimar.

The location of Pedernales and the Enriquillo region, which includes several provinces in the southern part of the Dominican Republic, is the most suitable for the production of wind energy, in addition to being on the coast, with the sea “at the feet”, which also could serve as a green hydrogen system in the future.

 

Phase 1.

  1. Identify the amount of H2V that will be produced in the pilot duration of 1 year and the entityinternationalthat will provide technical and financial support, such as the World Bank.
  2. Identify the financial source with a soft rate and the support of the Government through the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) and the National Energy Commission (CNE), entities that will prepare the regulations for the application of new technologies and will execute new incentives for private investors. .
  3. Involve the general management of APP for the granting of incentives, the National Council of Free Zones (CNZFE) for approval of incentives in case of export of this type of energy in the future; to Border Development, to take advantage of the incentives provided by Law 28-1, on border development, and to the Ministry of Tourism, which also facilitates new hotel projects with incentives.

 

Phase 2

  1. Prepare an impact study, based on a SWOT analysis, to balance the risks and the cost of the technology. Involve the Academy of Sciences and the National Council for Climate Change and Clean Development Mechanism, for any observation, since in the Dominican Republic it has been identified that the greatest effect of greenhouse gases is generated by 61.90% through energy, 19.10% for agriculture, 12.90% for waste and 5.30% for industrial processes.

 

  1. Focus on cost reduction and make the project competitive given the high production price of H2V, look at regional experiences in similar markets, ensure follow-up and technical support from organizations such as the World Bank and the International Energy Organization, and train local personnel in the area.

 

  1. Create within the Government (the MEM and the CNE) a special area to follow up on the good execution of H2V projects, with a quick window to apply the incentives and channel the permits in the Ministry of the Environment and National Resources and the Ministries of Public Works and Communications and the Treasury.

 

Phase 3

a) Carry out a feasibility study to determine cost/competitiveness in a project based on wind power and another based on natural gas and another based on sea water, or offshore solar to offer it to investors. In charge of the Government.

 

b) Apply all types of collaboration for the competitive development of H2V in activities focused on tourism, mining, land transport (bicycles, motors, cars, buses, trucks, internal flight planes in the DR, etc.), maritime (catamarans , boats, monorail, etc.) and in other metallurgical industries (steel), agribusiness (to make fertilizers); chemical (to produce methane), who want to locate in the area and generate or use energy of this type and thus lower the cost of production, which today ranges between US$1.8. US$3 and US$5 per kilowatt (kW).

The idea, according to experts, is to lower the cost of producing H2V to US$0.5 and US$1.5 per kW. The H2LAC platform (https://h2lac.org), with the support of the German GIZ Agency, the World Bank, ECLAC and Euroclima, of the European Union, is the best source of training and guidance on the subject.

Note…In the Dominican Republic it is also possible to start an H2V pilot project from natural gas, since there is a large presence of the fuel through the multinational AES Dominicana with its terminal. And, another natural gas (NG) terminal will be opened in the community of Monte Cristi, in the northern zone of the Caribbean country.

See the opportunity for underground storage and the regional agreements of countries in the Latin American region that are venturing into H2V.

 

What is hydrogen?

Hydrogen is based on the electrolysis process from fossil fuels such as natural gas. It is not a source of energy and therefore fossil fuels are needed as a primary source, according to experts. It is also introduced with solar energy and sea water. It has been used in the chemical industry and refineries for more than 100 years.

96% of hydrogen is used with natural gas and coal and 4% with electricity, explains José Fuster Justiniano, from GIZ-4e Chile.

There are different types of hydrogen (grey, blue, green). The drop in the costs of renewable energy has motivated the promotion of this industry as a spearhead to reduce greenhouse gases and decarbonise important sectors of the economy such as the steel industry, transport in general, industries and electricity production. , mining and cement, among others.

Green hydrogen is produced with renewable energy, gray hydrogen with natural gas and blue hydrogen with fossil fuels.

 

No Comments

Leave A Reply

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Exit mobile version