Optimization of a standalone photovoltaic-based microgrid with electrical and hydrogen loads

Abstract Despite the ability of renewables to decarbonize energy use, their intermittent nature causes inconsistent energy generation, thus energy storage is required to tackle the supply-demand mismatch. While the use of hybrid battery-hydrogen energy storage for microgrids has been extensively studied, there is a lack of study on the integration of electricity and hydrogen supply systems. In other words, the concurrent targeting of hydrogen and electrical loads in a microgrid with hybrid battery-hydrogen storage is lacking. This study presents an optimization framework for the design and operation of a standalone microgrid with electrical and hydrogen loads. Two energy management strategies have been proposed and the optimization model is solved using particle swarm optimization algorithm. The proposed methodology was demonstrated through a case study and the levelized cost of energy ranges from 0.4551 USD/kWh to 0.4572 USD/kWh for the base case scenario. The optimal microgrid design in base case scenario is found to have a high value of potential energy waste possibility, indicating that the solar panel is oversized to reduce energy storage requirement. Sensitivity analysis results showed that a significant cost reduction can be achieved when only 95% of loads are targeted.