Assessment of wind-to-hydrogen (Wind-H2) generation prospects in the Sultanate of Oman
Abstract and Overview of the main output of the research
Economic feasibility is one of the essential factors for choosing a project to launch. Hence, this study focused on assessing the economic viability of hydrogen generation using wind energy in the Sultanate of Oman. On this subject, wind energy potential for the selected sites was first investigated. Followed by Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), hydrogen production, the energy efficiency of hydrogen generation, and the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) production were examined. Two key factors, wind turbine power curve adjustment and turbine performance degradation during the project lifetime, were incorporated in the wind energy assessment, hydrogen production, and their costs for a site. This study has considered 18 locations throughout the country to evaluate hydrogen generation and the cost. The LCOE was found to be 0.0349–0.0701 USD/kWh without degradation and 0.0398–0.0801 USD/kWh with degradation. It also discovered the rank of the potential sites based on the merit order of hydrogen production. It showed that Masirah and Thumrait were the most suitable sites, whereas Sur was the least qualified. The LCOH for the most appropriate place, Masirah, is 3.37 USD/kg. The LCOH in Sur, a least suitable site, was found to be 6.15 USD/kg. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was done to identify the factors that significantly alter green hydrogen production costs in Omani conditions. The outcomes reveal that Wind-H2 production has significant potential with a cost-effective levelized cost in the Sultanate of Oman.
Conclusions
This study has presented an economic assessment of green hydrogen generation and the energy cost of using wind resources for different locations in the Sultanate of Oman. In this regard, using a large wind turbine system, 8 (among 18) different representative locations in the Sultanate were selected to estimate wind energy production, hydrogen production, LCOE, LCOH, and CO2 emission reduction.
However, the following additional points and conclusions must be considered during observation of this study:
With an ever-increasing demand for electricity, the Sultanate is in the process of analyzing different measures and policies for subsidizing the use of electrical units generated through renewable energy
resources. Therefore, the importance of such projects would increase exponentially in the years to come, even if by doing so it would prove less economical to the governments. These subsidy measures are to be in the form of deploying Bulk Supply Tariffs (BSTs) or Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) for excess units supplied back to the grid by consumers.
A consistently reducing cost structure of wind turbines and corresponding Operation and Maintenance (O&M) costs prove to elevate the economic feasibility of wind farms by leaps and bounds.
In addition to the amounts of annual reduction in Carbon emissions, the societal value of a substantially increasing focus on renewables as part of measures to completely eradicate GHG emissions has to be taken into account when studying the potential of such projects.
Along with the reductions in emission that result from replacement of fossil-fuel based grids with renewables-based grids, a factor accounting for the reduction in fossil fuel imports must be taken into account when considering non-oil exporting nations.
This study considers the average electricity consumption and electricity tariffs of the Sultanate as a whole in contrast to the slightly differing values of the MIS (Main Interconnected System), the Salalah system and the off-grid system by the Rural Areas Electricity Company (RAECO) deployed in ruralareas of the country.
This research has been published by Dr. Razzaqul Ahshan, from Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University. The paper published at Renewable Energy Journal.
Assessment of wind-to-hydrogen (Wind-H2) generation prospects in the Sultanate of Oman
