Feasibility analysis of green hydrogen production from wind

Abstract

Renewable hydrogen production has an important role in global decarbonization. However, when coupled with intermittent and variable sources, such as wind or PV, electrolyzers are subjected to part-load and dynamic operation. This can lead to low utilization factors and faster degradation of the electrolyzers and affect the specific hydrogen cost. The design and sizing of such electrolysis systems are fundamental to minimize costs. In this study, several configurations of an electrolysis system producing green hydrogen from a 39 MW-wind farm are compared. The effects of both the size of the plant and the number of separated groups into which it is divided are investigated. Dividing the plant into two separated groups resulted to be enough to increase hydrogen production; a further increase in the number of groups didn't produce significant differences. The most profitable configurations resulted that with one or two groups, depending on the hydrogen selling price.