Hydrogen Refueling Station
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The hydrogen refueling station uses solar power to generate and store clean-burning hydrogen. |
The Las Vegas Valley Water District, in partnership with the UNLV Research Foundation, built a hydrogen refueling station in 2007.
The station operates entirely on solar power and reflects the Water District's commitment to use renewable energy in its fleet operations.
Funded in large part through a grant from the United States Department of Energy (DOE), the project is one of the first systems of its kind in America.
Alternative-fuel vehicles, including gas/electric hybrids and those utilizing compressed natural gas (CNG) and biodiesel, currently comprise 77 percent of the Water District's fleet.
Using power collected by solar panels that follow the sun’s path across the sky, the facility’s generators use electrolysis to extract hydrogen from water, which is stored and used as fuel. Hydrogen is colorless, odorless and releases no damaging by-products. It has no carbons, unlike other fuels that produce harmful emissions.
The first two vehicles in the hydrogen fleet are a Polaris Ranger internal combustion utility vehicle that has been converted to hydrogen fuel, and a Taylor-Dunn converted electric truck that runs on a hydrogen fuel cell.
The Water District will use hydrogen-powered vehicles that have been retrofitted to run on hydrogen primarily at the Springs Preserve. This will allow residents and visitors to witness first-hand the use of clean, alternative fuels while demonstrating that it is possible to integrate alternatives to fossil fuels—the technologies are within reach.
The Water District also plans to add a hydrogen-powered pickup truck to its fleet by the end of 2007. In addition, plans call for the addition of a hydrogen-dedicated car the following year. The refueling facility also will function as a laboratory for the UNLV Center for Energy Research in order to further refine and enhance hydrogen fuel technology.
The project involves 13 public and private entities. Future collaborations will emerge with the Water District ’s ability to provide an alternative fueling location for the City of Las Vegas to fuel its hydrogen vehicles.
The DOE funded the bulk of the project’s research and development as well as the construction costs through a grant to the UNLV Research Foundation. Other partners include Nevada Power Company, which provided electrical upgrades for the station along with incentives that partially fund the solar array.
The project is part of a multi-faceted research project that received $12 million in research and development funding from the Department of Energy. An additional $4 million was contributed in matching funds. Other components of the project include a hydrogen safety workshop; a hydrogen road-mapping exercise for Nevada; research into the production of hydrogen using photoelectric chemistry; and improvements on membrane and electrolyzer performance and efficiency.
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