Integration of photovoltaic and hydrogen fuel cell system for sustainable energy harvesting of a university ICT infrastructure with an irregular electric grid

Abstract

This study investigates the prospect of using an integrated renewable power system to enhance an unreliable grid network for sustainable electricity generation. A grid coupled microgrid comprising photovoltaic and hydrogen fuel cell system, simulated for an information and communication technology (ICT) building is considered. The overall objectives are to decide the technical, ecological and monetary gains of the addition of green energy sources to an unreliable grid for electricity harvesting within university campuses. The energy-balance procedures of the hybrid optimisation model for electric renewables software tool are employed for this study. The system design is implemented for the electrical load of an ICT building at Ambrose Alli University (6°44.0′N, 6°5.1′E) using long-term meteorological datasets collected for the study site. The results show that the integration of 323 kW photovoltaic array, 75 kW power converter, and 25 kW fuel cell system with 26 kW electrolyser and 20 kg hydrogen tank can reliably enhance the existing unreliable electric grid system in a clean and sustainable way. Using this integrated energy system requires an initial capital ($ 247,100), net present cost ($ 445,266), yearly operating cost (3,901 $/y), and cost of energy (0.05976 $/kWh). Consequently, the renewable fraction increases by 91.2%, CO2 cut by 95.2%, while the grid electricity purchases reduce by 80.7%, at a cost saving of 91.6%.