Impact of wind speed distribution and management strategy on hydrogen production from wind energy

Electrolytic hydrogen production using renewable sources can play a central role in global decarbonization. However, the direct coupling of electrolyzers with renewable energies can cause frequent shutdowns and high production fluctuations unless adopting electrical storage systems or using electricity from the grid that is generally not completely decarbonized. In this study, a system consisting of a wind turbine, short-term battery storage, and an alkaline electrolyzer was analyzed through annual simulations in MATLAB. A power management strategy sets the electrolyzer and battery operating conditions. Firstly, several battery and electrolyzer sizes were investigated for a given wind site for three scenarios (0%grid, 20%grid, and 100%grid) in which the grid guarantees the electrolyzer operation at a minimum load of 0%, 20%, and 100%, respectively. Secondly, the effect of the wind speed distribution on the system performance was investigated by comparing sixteen different wind sites in the 0%grid scenario. The battery presence always led to a LCOH increase. The 20%grid scenario represented a good compromise between the minimization of specific CO2 emissions, and the minimization of LCOH (that was always lower compared to the 0%grid scenario and the lowest without battery). The shape parameter of the fittedWeibull wind speed distribution did not affect the system. Instead, a greater scale parameter led to both greater hydrogen production and a lower LCOH. (c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Electrolytic hydrogen production using renewable sources can contribute significantly to global decarbonization, but it requires the adoption of electrical storage systems or completely decarbonized grid electricity to overcome the challenges of frequent shutdowns and production fluctuations. The study analyzed a system comprising a wind turbine, short-term battery storage, and an alkaline electrolyzer through annual simulations. The presence of a battery increased the cost of hydrogen production, but a scenario with 20% grid electricity achieved a good balance between minimizing CO2 emissions and minimizing cost. The shape parameter of the wind speed distribution did not affect the system, while a greater scale parameter led to increased hydrogen production and reduced cost.