Search

This study is aimed at scrutinizing the domestic solar energy potential for electricity and hydrogen production. Under the first scenario, it is sought to evaluate electricity generation for household purposes using RSUs (rooftop solar units). Then, under the second scenario, solar hydrogen production is analyzed for the purpose of meeting a hydrogen vehicle demand. For this, one of the aptest cities, Yazd, located in the center of Iran is investigated. Furthermore, a real-world electric load needed by an usual household in Yazd is deemed as the demand for electricity. To analyze the two scenarios, a system consisting of an 8.2 kW RSU for power generation, a battery for electricity storage, and a 1 kW electrolyzer for hydrogen yield is proposed. Also, to acquire a broader vision, predictions are made for the next 10, 20, 30, and 40 years. The results regarding the first scenario implied that COE (Cost of Electricity) would be, respectively, 0.067, 0.145, 0.136, and 0.127 $/kWh. In addition to supplying the electricity required by the house, 2,687 $/yr could be earned by selling the excess electricity generated, and 5,759 kg of CO2 would be avoided a year. The findings as to the second scenario showed that LCOH (levelized cost of hydrogen) would equate to 3.62, 6.53, 6.34, and 5.93 $/kg, respectively, for the aforementioned project lifetimes. Furthermore, 2,464 $/yr would be the revenue after selling the surplus electricity, and 7,820 kg of CO2 would be saved, annually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of site location is one of the critical tasks in developing or expanding any supply chain system including the construction of renewable power generation plants. The accurate identification of a plant site can considerably reduce unforeseen risks and costs and also raise productivity and efficacy. As such, this study sought to thoroughly evaluate all capital cities of a developing country for the establishment of a hybrid wind/solar power plant to produce hydrogen while considering the most influential and conflicting criteria. For this, 14 criteria including daily solar radiation, wind power density, clearness index, altitude, population, average sunny hours in a year, unemployment rate, average air temperature, average air humidity, average yearly precipitation, natural disasters, the distance between the site and the main road, average dusty days per year, and land price constituted the set of vital factors. To prioritize alternatives, a Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Making approach named FVIKOR (Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Optimization and Compromise Solution) was used. The results indicated that among 31 capital cities, the city of Yazd with a wind power density of 309.5 W/m2 and daily solar radiation of 5.4 kWh/m2 would be the best location for the purpose of this study. To validate the findings, FTOPSIS (Fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) method was utilized and it also ranked Yazd as the first option. Then, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to discern the behavior of each criterion and their impact on the ranking of the cities. Finally, for hydrogen generation, an autonomous hybrid wind/solar system was techno-economically assessed using HOMER software. According to the analysis outcome, the proposed system showed a payback period of 7 years with levelized cost of 4.75 $/kg for hydrogen. • Utilizing Fuzzy VIKOR for accurate location planning of a stand-alone hybrid wind/solar site. • Proposing crucial and conflicting criteria for the process of prioritization. • Validating the results of ranking via FTOPSIS. • Investigating all 31 capital cities of Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]