Abstract
The economic efficiency of harnessing wind energy in the autonomous power systems of Russia is analyzed. Wind turbines are shown to be competitive for many considered variants (groups of consumers, placement areas, and climatic and meteorological conditions). The authors study the possibility of storing energy in the form of hydrogen in the autonomous wind/diesel/hydrogen power systems that include wind turbines, diesel generator, electrolyzer, hydrogen tank, and fuel cells. The paper presents the zones of economic efficiency of the system (set of parameters that provide its competitiveness) depending on load, fuel price, and long-term average annual wind speed. At low wind speed and low price of fuel, it is reasonable to use only diesel generator to supply power to consumers. When the fuel price and wind speed increase, first it becomes more economical to use a wind-diesel system and then wind turbines with a hydrogen system. In the latter case, according to the optimization results, diesel generator is excluded from the system.
Highlights
In the recent years, the energy policy of many countries has been aimed at increasing the share of renewable energy sources (RES) in the total energy production
To estimate the economic efficiency of wind turbines, we should compare the cost of power generated by them to the fuel component of the cost of power produced by diesel generators
This is indicative of a great potential of wind turbines when used in the autonomous power supply systems, both in coastal areas and in some continental regions of Russia
Summary
The energy policy of many countries has been aimed at increasing the share of renewable energy sources (RES) in the total energy production. Russian zones of decentralized power supply that do not have any modern electrical networks and large energy sources occupy about 70% of the country and are situated mostly in the Far North. The Far North is represented by a number of regions in the European part of the country (Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions, the Republic of Karelia, and the Republic of Komi), Siberia (the north of Tyumen Region and Krasnoyarsk Territory), and the Far East (Yakutia, Chukotka, Magadan, Kamchatka, and Sakhalin regions). These territories have significant reserves of gold, platinum, diamonds, tin, lead, and other mineral resources
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