An investment decision framework for photovoltaic power coupling hydrogen storage project based on a mixed evaluation method under intuitionistic fuzzy environment

Abstract

Abstract The photovoltaic power coupling hydrogen storage (PVPCHS) system has been considerably valued due to the solar curtailment phenomenon as well as the long-term and large-scale energy storage characteristic of hydrogen energy. And the investment decision of PVPCHS project is a novel multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem, thus it is necessary to establish a decision framework considering the characteristics of PVPCHS project. First, the criteria system that includes resource, economy, environmental and social aspects is established. Second, in consideration of the uncertainty in the decision-making process, this paper applies the TIFN-fuzzy DEMATEL method to the weight determination stage and employs the TIFN-fuzzy TODIM method to rank the alternative PVPCHS projects. Finally, a case study in Inner Mongolia of China is executed to prove the validity of the hybrid evaluation method. The results indicate that the scheme A3 located in Hohhot possesses the best comprehensive performance. Moreover, the sensitivity analysis reveals the necessity to set up diverse scenarios based on the individual demands of decision makers. Meanwhile, the comparative analysis results show the exceptional applicability of the hybrid evaluation method. This paper can not only be adopted by investors to make decisions, but also be referred by further investigators.