An investigation on hydrogen production capacity of a photovoltaic power plant

Abstract

Hydrogen utilization as an energy carrier is expected to increase in the future. However, it must be manufactured using various energy sources because of it does not exist in nature as a gas. Renewable energy sources such as solar are the best option for clean and sustainable hydrogen production. Soguksu photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant is an important investment for northwest of Turkey with 7 MW peak capacity. In hereby, hydrogen production capacity of the solar power plant is evaluated. Daily, monthly and annual electricity generation results of Soguksu PV solar power plant were recorded according to actual operating conditions in the data library of the power plant. These values have been used here to investigate hydrogen production from Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzer. Results show that the maximum mass flow of hydrogen production is 0.0625 kgs(-1)H(2) at peak load. Also, total annual electricity generation of the power plant is 10.7 GWh that result in an annual hydrogen production of 344 tons.