Optimization of renewable powered hydrogen micro-grid; taking in to account economic criteria

Abstract

In this paper, a renewable hydrogen powered micro-grid is developed that is capable of supporting a community in islanded mode or while the macro grid is active. To accomplish this task, different renewable energy based technologies, such as Solar PVs, wind turbines, electrolysers, hydrogen tanks and fuel cells are considered. The energy hub approach is used for the modeling, which enables the provision of smart grid services and allows the management of both the energy generation and the energy loads of an entire community. As a case study, a community consisting of a large distribution center and a residential complex is considered. The micro grid is responsible for meeting the electricity demands of the community as well as supplying hydrogen for the forklifts and hydrogen vehicles. The hydrogen can be used directly as fuel for a fuel cell forklift, or vehicle, and for the generation of electricity via vehicles for the bi-directional grid connection, which allows the option to supply electricity during peak hours by means of stored hydrogen energy. The objective of this work is to find the optimum size of the different renewable technologies for the micro-grid considering economic criteria.