Abstract
Diesel generators are currently used as an off-grid solution for backup power, but this causes CO2 and GHG emissions, noise emissions, and the negative effects of the volatile diesel market influencing operating costs. Green hydrogen production, by means of water electrolysis, has been proposed as a feasible solution to fill the gaps between demand and production, the main handicaps of using exclusively renewable energy in isolated applications. This manuscript presents a business case of an off-grid hydrogen production by electrolysis applied to the electrification of isolated sites. This study is part of the European Ely4off project (n° 700359). Under certain techno-economic hypothesis, four different system configurations supplied exclusively by photovoltaic are compared to find the optimal Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCoE): photovoltaic-batteries, photovoltaic-hydrogen-batteries, photovoltaic-diesel generator, and diesel generator; the influence of the location and the impact of different consumptions profiles is explored. Several simulations developed through specific modeling software are carried out and discussed. The main finding is that diesel-based systems still allow lower costs than any other solution, although hydrogen-based solutions can compete with other technologies under certain conditions.
Highlights
Population density and urbanization rates are key parameters to planning electricity grid extension
The results illustrate conditions wherein off-grid hydrogen production may present a techno-economic interest for isolated site electrification
Edinburgh compared compared to to Tenerife, Tenerife, These results show that levelized cost of energy (LCOE) is three to four when power solution is based on PV and storage means
Summary
Population density and urbanization rates are key parameters to planning electricity grid extension. Most of the incremental electrification over the period of. 1990–2010 was in urban areas; even with this significant expansion, electrification only just kept pace with rapid urbanization in the same period [1]. Both in developed and developing countries, renewable energies are growing. In developing countries, it is estimated that. 1.16 billion people do not have access to electricity [2]. Another factor to take into account is that the addition of renewable power is limited in locations where there is no grid, weak grids, or grids that are already saturated with renewables due to the unpredictable or unsteady character of RES generation
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