Green hydrogen production and storage via excess energy derived from a hybrid power system under different climatic conditions: Cameroon case study

Abstract

Growing energy demands and environmental concerns underscore the need for sustainable power solutions, especially in regions with diverse climatic and energy requirements like Cameroon. This study evaluates a self-sufficient hybrid energy system designed to meet three distinct electricity demands: rural residential load, multimedia institutional load, and medical facility load across various climatic conditions in Cameroon, including locations such as Bafoussam, Mbouda, Ngaoundéré, Garoua, Maroua, and Logone-Birni. The system, which integrates wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, an electrolyser, a hydrogen tank, and a fuel cell, is engineered to produce and store excess hydrogen in a secondary tank once the primary hydrogen storage tank is full and the energy needs are met. To determine the optimal system configuration, three evolutionary optimization algorithms namely the teaching–learning-based optimization, colliding bodies optimization, and water evaporation optimization algorithms were employed. The effectiveness of these algorithms was evaluated based on their ability to minimize the system’s net present cost. The optimization process compared various hybrid energy system setups, including photovoltaic/fuel cell, Wind/fuel cell, and photovoltaic/Wind/fuel cell, with regard to net present cost, levelized cost of energy, reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, and performance metrics such as the mass, volume, and levelized cost of hydrogen stored in the secondary hydrogen storage tank. Key findings reveal that the teaching–learning-based optimization algorithm outperforms the others, with the photovoltaic/Wind/fuel cell setup achieving the most favorable net present cost values of $188,024.35, $237,986.44, and $141,409.71 for rural residential, multimedia institutional, and medical facility loads, respectively, particularly in Maroua. This configuration also offers the lowest levelized cost of energy, ranging from $1.74/kWh, $0.94/kWh, and $1.60/kWh in Maroua to $1.93/kWh, $1.06/kWh, and $1.80/kWh in Mbouda for the respective profiles. Hydrogen production was most cost-effective in the photovoltaic/fuel cell configuration, with Mbouda demonstrating the highest annual hydrogen yields for all profiles, at levelized cost of hydrogen values of $10.13/kg, $8.91/kg, and $24.61/kg for the rural residential, multimedia institutional, and medical facility loads profiles, respectively. Notably, the Wind/fuel cell configuration consistently reduced carbon dioxide emissions compared to traditional fuel oil and natural gas power plants, achieving reductions of up to 12.17 tons per year for the rural residential in Bafoussam. These insights underscore the potential of hybrid renewable energy systems to support sustainable energy strategies in Cameroon, providing a valuable framework for policymakers and stakeholders in the energy sector.