Techno-Economic Analysis and Optimization of Solar Energy System for Power Generation and Hydrogen Production in Al Mazyouna Area

In this paper, a hybrid energy system using only renewable resources with hydrogen energy storage is proposed for Al-Mazyouna site which is located west of Dhofar governorate. The modeled system is investigated from techno-economic side using HOMER Pro Software. Real load data and solar radiation of Al Mazyouna were utilized in the modelling approach. The aim of this study to investigate the possibility of replacing diesel power plant, in this remote area, with renewable energy system and battery/Fuel cell system. The study considers three scenarios, PV system with battery, PV system with fuel cell and PV system with fuel cell-Battery. The optimal size of the system is based on the lowest value for the net present cost and the cost of energy. It was found that replacing the diesel generators with battery bank and PV system is possible but the cost of energy will increase from 0.188 US$/kWh to 0.422 US$/kWh but the main advantageous is that there will be no emission of harmful gases. Furthermore, replacing the battery bank by fuel cell with PV system is also possible, however, the cost of energy will further increase to 0.731 US$/kWh due to investment cost of electolyser, hydrogen tank and fuel cell. The main advantageous is that the Hydrogen fuel has high energy storage capacity and can store energy for longer time compared with battery bank in off-grid energy system. Combining two storage systems (Battery and Fuel cell) with PV resulted in energy cost reduction to 0.501 US$/kWh.