Floating photovoltaics for hydrogen era, storage – pv journal International

August 5, 2024 Lior Kahana

Scientists from the University of Exeter within the United Kingdom have investigated the potential of putting in a floating PV (FPV) farm on the Wadi Dayqah Dam in Oman and connecting it to a hydrogen storage system.

Using a number of software program packages to simulate and optimize the dimensions of the undertaking, the researchers discovered that the undertaking is technically possible, though at a comparatively excessive stage of the quantity of hydrogen (LCOH).

“The proposed location for the FPV system is the Wadi Dayqah Dam, situated within the northeastern area of the Sultanate of Oman, about 83 km southeast of Muscat in Qurayat,” the scientists mentioned. “The reservoir, with an space of ​​350 hectares, is shaped by two dams. The dam boasts an annual common world horizontal irradiation of two,083.6 kWh/m2 and maintains a mean annual ambient temperature of 28.43 C.”

The researchers used PVsyst software program to construct the FPV system. They recognized a 130,000 m2 reservoir space with little shade from the encircling mountains. Afterwards, they simulated the usage of a bifacial silicon monocrystalline module with 635 W and an effectivity of 20.5%. The value of the system is estimated at $1,260/kW, with an anticipated lifetime of 25 years.

“Due to the shortage of particular knowledge on the annual electrical energy consumption per family in Oman, an assumption was made utilizing the common family measurement in Oman of seven.2 people and the annual electrical energy consumption per capita in Oman which is 8.274 MWh,” mentioned the lecturers. “This calculation yields an estimated annual electrical energy consumption per family of 60 MWh/12 months. This quantity is then used to find out the variety of households that the proposed system can meet their electrical energy wants.

For the hydrogen storage system, HOMER Pro software program is used to optimize its measurement with minimal power prices. The scientists assumed to make use of a proton change membrane (PEM) electrolyzer with a capital value of $2,500/kW and a lifetime of 15 years; a PEM gasoline cell with a price of $2,500/kW and a lifetime of 60,000 hours; a hydrogen tank that prices $1,000/kW and lasts for 15 years; and a converter with a price of $300/kW and 15 years, respectively.

As for the storage system, the optimization instrument reveals an optimum electrolyzer capability of twenty-two MW, a storage tank of 60,000 kg, a gasoline cell of 13 MW, and a converter which is 12.4 MW. “With an put in capability of 26.57 MW, the FPV system has 41,847 bifacial modules. The system reveals a selected manufacturing fee of 1947 kWh / kWp / 12 months, leading to a complete annual power manufacturing of 51.734 GWh / 12 months,” the researchers added.

The whole system was discovered to generate 65.516 GWh of electrical energy per 12 months, with the FPV system accounting for 79% of the entire electrical energy manufacturing, whereas the gasoline cell accounts for the remaining 21%. “The mannequin system achieved a renewable share of 100%, which reveals its skill to satisfy 100% of the power wants of renewables. The home electrical load consumes 25.3 GWh per 12 months , representing 422 households,” specified the analysis group.

The financial evaluation of the system resulted in a excessive stage of value of electrical energy (LCOE) of $0.97/kWh and LCOH of $29.7/kg, attributed to the big capital and working prices related to main system elements and lack of gasoline cell inefficiency. “Economic viability may be improved sooner or later with advances in hydrogen power storage know-how and elevated fossil gasoline costs,” the lecturers concluded.

Their findings have been introduced in “Investigating the combination of floating photovoltaics (FPV) know-how with hydrogen (H2) power for electrical energy manufacturing for home purposes in Oman,” revealed in International Journal of Hydrogen Energy.