Managing Production–Demand Mismatch in Thermal Power Plants

The present policy of the Government asking regional electricity grids to absorb all the power generated by renewable power installations, and the thermal power stations to run at lower capacities than their installed values would not only force many thermal power plants to run at power levels much lower than their design values, but also constantly ramp up and down their outputs every day causing more wear and tear of the system. We suggest that the problem can be avoided by running the thermal power plants at their installed capacities, and use the surplus electricity to produce and store onsite hydrogen and oxygen. The stored hydrogen can be subsequently used not only to supplement coal in their own furnaces, but also for a variety of applications such as production of ammonia for fertilizers, as automobile fuel or for any other industrial applications. The ultrapure oxygen may be marketed for medical and other industrial applications.