Monday at The government meeting began at 7 p.m. Decisions about several important projects were to be made there. After hours At 10 p.m., the list of “government decisions” on the Prime Minister’s Chancellor’s website included information about “Draft act amending the Power Law and other special acts“What is it?
There is no turning back from the implementation of regulations governing the hydrogen market. They are included in the National Retirement Plan and are even one of the milestones. As we read in the Regulatory Impact Assessment, “The KPO specifically requests that milestone B17G be achieved by coming into the Act. Without it, cash flow will not begin. PiS has already started work on the project, but… so many comments were submitted that they could not be filled. They are now being brought to an end.
This is successful, because there was some confusion with hydrogen. As a result of changes in the Act on government administrative departments topics related to the hydrogen economy were sent to the Ministry of Industry, and those related to hydrogen technology to Ministry of Climate and Environment, even though the two areas are interconnected. However, this raised doubts about what would happen next with the new law. Fortunately, after almost five months of work on the project, the government accepted it and now the Sejm can deal with it. It is piloted by the Ministry of Climate. The Ministry of Industry is to update its hydrogen strategy.
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Hydrogen as an ideal fuel
The government adopted an amendment to the Energy Law and other special acts (UD36), ie the so-called hydrogen act. This is important because at the moment hydrogen is not fully regulated by law, which causes investment uncertainty. At the same time, hydrogen is expected to play a key role in the process to achieve climate neutrality. It is going to replace natural gas as an energy carrier and it is also going to be used for energy storage.
However, the project does not provide a definition of hydrogen, although it is separated as a separate type of fuel, next to gaseous ones.. According to the Energy Regulatory Office, this means that hydrogen is not a gaseous fuel, even when supplied through the gas network. When, for example, natural gas (a gaseous fuel) is mixed with hydrogen (a separate fuel) in the network, there will be a conflict between the rules for gaseous fuel and those for hydrogen, e.g. licensing rules, the operator or the tariff calculation.
However, the Regulatory Impact Assessment states that the regulations aim to regulate the hydrogen market, which is not transported through the gas network. “Transporting hydrogen through the gas network will remain under the control of the regulatory system for gaseous fuels. But the drafter also expanded the scope of the definition of gas fuel to include the possibility of hydrogen doping, to provide regulatory certainty in this area.“- we read in the OSR.
The project includes definitions of different types of hydrogen: low emissions produced from fossil fuels, renewables obtained from renewable energy sources and renewable non-biological sources, among others. from biogas. Importantly, in the definition of low emission hydrogen, the emission reduction threshold is 70%. Therefore, it is lower than the original estimate of 73.4%.
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Hydrogen storage
The project also defines the rules for the operation of operators of hydrogen transmission, distribution and storage systems. As a result of comments submitted Three types of energy storage are identified:
a) electrical storage,
b) converting electricity taken from the power grid or generated by a generating unit connected to the power grid and cooperation with this network to another type of energy, including fuel, storing this energy and then use it as an energy carrier,
c) processing electricity taken from a system that is not connected to the power grid, storing this energy and then using it as an energy carrier.
It is said that electricity can be converted to “fuel” instead of “hydrogen” to take into account the possibility of storing electricity also in the form of fuel in addition to “hydrogen”. As Kamil Zawicki of the law firm Kubas Gos Gałkowski says, This is one of the most important changes introduced as a result of comments submitted by a total of 15 entities.
The definition is divided into three types of energy storage. It is worth noting that it has been clarified that in the case of energy storage which includes the processing of electricity, it must be stored after the electricity has been converted and then used as a energy carriers, which raised some doubts about the level of consultation and review. Finally, to take into account the possibility of storing electricity in fuel other than hydrogen, he was limited to stating that electricity can be converted into “fuel”, not to mention, for example, hydrogen.
The first large hydrogen storage facility for the needs of Polish industry can be built in Kosakowo, in Pomeranian Voivodeship. There will be a large surplus of energy in this region, which will help store hydrogen.
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Transmission and diffusion of hydrogen
As a result of comments submitted to the project Fundamental changes have also been introduced to the definitions of hydrogen transmission networks and hydrogen distribution networks.
Hydrogen transmission network a network whose network traffic is the responsibility of the hydrogen transmission system operator, directly connected to a hydrogen storage facility or used to transport hydrogen to another hydrogen network or hydrogen storage facility.
Distribution network Network traffic is a network that is the responsibility of the operator of the hydrogen distribution system, is not directly connected to the hydrogen storage installation, and is used to supply hydrogen to users that are directly connected to this network.
Both definitions do not include a geographically limited network, ie a network covering a small area. The authors of the project emphasize that the latest version of the project clearly identifies the criteria that distinguish the two types of networksto avoid doubts regarding the application of the provisions relating to hydrogen transmission networks or hydrogen distribution networks.
Giving discounts
As a rule, the President of the Energy Regulatory Office will grant licenses to energy companies to be a system operator: transmission, distribution, hydrogen storage and the integrated system. This will be a new power of the President of the Office of Energy Management. The draft Act assumes – similar to the gas market – that there will be only one operator of the hydrogen transmission system, which will be a subsidiary of the same gas transmission system in Poland. The operator of the hydrogen transmission system will not be able to carry out activities in the field of hydrogen production or trading.
However, organizations that, on the day the Act comes into force, already have business activities that require a permit, will receive a transitional period. Importantly, as a result of the statement electricity production from renewable hydrogen and renewable hydrogen from non-biological sources are excluded from the licensing obligation (in addition to the current exemption for low emission hydrogen). In addition, withthe value of the annual hydrogen trade, above which the hydrogen trade is subject to a license obligation, was increased from EUR 1 million to EUR 10 million. Similarly, the maximum capacity of small hydrogen storage plants has been increased from 55,000 Nm3to make 85 000 Nm3in which hydrogen storage is exempt from the licensing obligation, as long as it is local storage.
Small investments without a building permit
The government also wants to make it easier and faster to build small centers and networks. Here’s why according to design hydrogen production plants in the electrolysis process together with the accompanying infrastructure with a total capacity not exceeding 10 MW and cleaning plants hydrogen with a capacity not exceeding 250 kg of hydrogen per day it will be possible only on a notification basis construction works. This is intended to facilitate research work, but also to facilitate the commissioning of small institutions. The purification process is necessary to ensure that the hydrogen obtained by any means has the appropriate parameters. After notification, it will be possible to build hydrogen networks with a working pressure not exceeding 0.5 MPa.
“The procedure for reporting construction work is simpler compared to obtaining a building permit, which is a special example of removing an administrative barrier and simplifying rules for investors who ready to invest in the hydrogen market,” we read in the OSR.
2024-10-14 20:24:00
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