Economic Feasibility of Green Hydrogen Production by Water Electrolysis Using Wind and Geothermal Energy Resources in Asal-Ghoubbet Rift (Republic of Djibouti): A Comparative Evaluation

Mohamed Osman Awaleh,Abdi-Basid Adan,Moussa Mahdi Ahmed,Mohamed Jalludin,Ismael Abdillahi Guirreh,Omar Assowe Dabar

doi:10.3390/en15010138

Mohamed Osman Awaleh, Abdi-Basid Adan + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/en15010138

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Abstract

The Republic of Djibouti has untapped potential in terms of renewable energy resources, such as geothermal, wind, and solar energy. This study examines the economic feasibility of green hydrogen production by water electrolysis using wind and geothermal energy resources in the Asal–Ghoubbet Rift (AG Rift), Republic of Djibouti. It is the first study in Africa that compares the cost per kg of green hydrogen produced by wind and geothermal energy from a single site. The unit cost of electricity produced by the wind turbine (0.042 $/kWh) is more competitive than that of a dry steam geothermal plant (0.086 $/kWh). The cost of producing hydrogen with a suitable electrolyzer powered by wind energy ranges from $0.672/kg H2 to $1.063/kg H2, while that produced by the high-temperature electrolyzer (HTE) powered by geothermal energy ranges from $3.31/kg H2 to $4.78/kg H2. Thus, the AG Rift area can produce electricity and green hydrogen at low-cost using wind energy compared to geothermal energy. The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reduced by using a “Yinhe GX113-2.5MW” wind turbine and a single flash geothermal power plant instead of fuel-oil generators is 2061.6 tons CO2/MW/year and 2184.8 tons CO2/MW/year, respectively.

Highlights

The Republic of Djibouti is located in the Horn of Africa, at the intersection of the RedSea and the Indian Ocean (Figure 1)
The Republic of Djibouti is one of several African countries located on the East African Rift System (EARS) (Figure 1)
Temporal wind data were recorded for two years intervals and preprocessed by converting speed data were recorded for two years with

Summary

Introduction

The Republic of Djibouti is located in the Horn of Africa, at the intersection of the Red. Sea and the Indian Ocean (Figure 1). As in other rifting zones, the EARS activity corresponds to large seismic, tectonic, and volcanic activities [1]. This unique geodynamical environment puts the Republic of Djibouti in an excellent position to develop geothermal energy. The Republic of Djibouti, one of the few countries with geothermal potential in Africa, is endowed with a substantial amount of this energy, which is found scattered along the Gulf of Tadjourah ridge and the western part of the country (Supplementary Figure S1) [2,3]. Several studies have been carried out on the Republic of Djibouti geothermal areas to either select the most favorable geothermal prospects for exploration by deep drilling or estimate their geothermal potential [2,3,4,5,6,7,8]

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