Hydrogen production from renewable energy resources: A case study

Abstract

In the face of increasing demand for hydrogen, a feasibility study is conducted on its production by using Renewable Energy Resources (RERs), especially from wind and solar sources, with the latter preferring photovoltaic technology. The analysis performed is based on climate data for the Province of Brindisi, Apulia, Italy. The various types of electrolyzers will be analyzed, ultimately choosing the one that best suits the case study under consideration. The technical aspect of the land consumption for RER exploitation until 2050 is analyzed for the Italian case of study and for the Apulia Region. For both the 200 MW and 100 MW RER Power Plants, an economic analysis is carried out on the opportunities for using hydrogen. In the last part of the economic analysis, the trade-off between the high specific investment cost and the Capacity Factor of Wind technologies is also investigated. The results show the affordability of building high-scale Wind Farms, harnessing the existing scale economies. The lowest Hydrogen selling price is achieved by the 200 MW Wind Farms equal to 222 €/MWh against 232 €/MWh of the 200 MW Photovoltaic (PV) Farm. Finally, the feasibility analysis considers also the greenhouse gas emission reduction by including in the economic analysis the carbon dioxide (CO2) Average Auction Clearing Price leading for the 200 MW Wind Farms to a hydrogen selling price equal to 191.2 €/MWh against 201 €/MWh of the 200 MW Photovoltaic Farm.