Methane to Store Wind and Solar Power

An exciting new discovery with some degree of environment potential has been made by scientists, who have come across a microbe capable of transforming electricity into methane.  

This microbe has the potential to compliment renewable energy sources like solar and wind power, on the premise that, by converting the energy these technologies produce into methane, it can be stored for use at a future date.  However, while this could provide a solution to the issue of energy storage on windless or cloudy days (i.e. occasions when neither wind nor sun energy is present in abundance), the situation isn’t quite that simple.

The microbe itself is known as Methanobacterium palustre.  Historically, no other previously-discovered microbe has been able to perform direct electricity-to-methane conversion.  Importantly, when it does this conversion, approximately 20 per cent of the energy is lost.  This may sound a lot, but according to the scientific community, an 80 per cent efficiency rate is highly creditable.

Storing Wind and Solar Energy

Prior to Methanobacterium palustre being discovered, few viable options existed for storing wind and solar energy.  Batteries and other devices were considered best, since another alternative, hydrogen conversion, was viewed as troublesome from a storage perspective. 

No similar problems exist for methane, which is the primary constituent of natural gas and which, thus, is transported globally via pipelines.

However, here’s one central, negative issue.  Methane is also a greenhouse gas and, thus, creating it from renewable energy sources (the use of which is a ‘cleaner’ alternative to processes like industrial fossil fuel burning) could undermine the desired end result.  In other words, save emissions by drawing on cleaner sources of energy, but release them again when storing it. 

Electricity-to-Methane Conversion

On the positive side, methane burns quickly and effectively, so has fewer CO2 emissions associated with it than with alternative types of hydrocarbons.  On that basis, then, electricity-to-methane conversion still presents a more environmentally friendly option than the old methods, even if the optimum solution has still not been found. 

For the future, additional research is needed, including studies into how the technology can best be used.  For the moment, though, we now have a little more insight into how, one day, renewable energy sources might replace conventional electricity entirely.