Complex power-to-gas plant site selection by multi-criteria decision-making and GIS

Abstract

• A novel regional-scale site suitability analysis for PtG facilities is presented. • Environmental, social and techno-economic suitability criteria were considered. • Suitable sites cover 20% of the study area, mostly determined by infrastructure. • Location of biogas plants connected to PtG hubs influence the site selection. • Centralisation level is affected by economies of scale of the main equipment. As power-to-gas (PtG) technology advances from the development phase to commercial utilisation, more of such facilities can be expected to be installed in the near future. Unlike other energy conversion or storage technologies, PtG depends on all public utilities and also on CO 2 sources. These complex conditions make it difficult to identify the proper geographical locations for new installations. In this study, a GIS-based site suitability and selection methodology is presented, considering public utility services as power, gas and water networks, besides other common site suitability criteria. These factors were weighted by a multi-criteria decision-making process to find the possible PtG sites in a study area. It was assumed that PtG facilities receive biogas as a CO 2 source from several biogas plants through dedicated pipelines. Results indicate that 2.5% of the 7,250 km 2 region is suitable to host PtG facilities. To produce 142 million m 3 CH 4 per year, altogether 92.4 MW electrolyser capacity is required, which can be distributed in the region in a decentralised manner. The capital expenditure assessment showed that centralised scenarios are 16.6–26.3% less cost intensive than a totally decentralised system of PtG plants.