Prioritizing locations for renewable hydrogen production in Algeria

Algeria has enormous potential in terms of developing hybrid wind-solar sources for hydrogen production. In this research, the suitable locations for hydrogen production from wind-solar hybrid power plants in Algeria are investigated. A Novel ARAS(Additive Ratio Assessment) method is implemented using seventeen criteria which is thoroughly examined for evaluating and prioritizing eight states in Algeria. To assess the results for the hydrogen production, three different validating methods are examined in parallel. Then, the economic evaluation is carried out for selecting optimal number of wind turbines and solar PV panels for hydrogen production. The findings suggest that Algeries, Adrar, and Oran are ranked with the highest priority cities for constructing wind-solar hybrid power plants for hydrogen production. Next, techno-economic evaluation is explored on NPV (Net Present Value) basis, which determines nominal power production of 100 kW and 500 kW from wind turbines and solar panels, respectively. Considering 20 years of useful life for the hybrid wind-solar system, the project is economically evaluated feasible with $261,049,800 NPV. Hydrogen production revenue and CO₂ emission saving are equal to $71,473,524 and $637.524, respectively. Considering that the efficiency of the RES decreases by 2 % every year, the amount of hydrogen and the CO₂ emitted drops by about 2 %. This study provides planners with a detailed insight for hydrogen production from renewable sources in Algeria.