The Feasibility of Hydrogen Storage for Mixed Wind-Nuclear Power Plants

A novel methodology for economic evaluation of hydrogen storage for a mixed wind-nuclear power plant is presented in this article in a context of a “hydrogen economy.” The simulation of the operation of the combined nuclear-wind-hydrogen system is discussed first, where the selling and buying of electricity and the selling of excess hydrogen and oxygen is optimized to maximize profits. This simulation is done in two phases: In the pre-dispatch phase, the system operation is optimized according to stochastic wind and price forecasts to obtain optimal hydrogen charge levels for the operational horizon. In the second phase, a real-time dispatch is carried out on an hourly basis to optimize the operation of the system to maximize profits, and to follow the storage levels of the pre-dispatch phase. Based on the operation planning and dispatch results, an economic evaluation is performed to determine the feasibility of the proposed scheme for investment purposes. The results of these studies demonstrate that hydrogen for the sole purpose of storage of electricity is not economically feasible at the current state of hydrogen technology development, unless hydrogen is sold to the market for other purposes such as transportation, as in the case in a hydrogen economy, or in the case of limited electricity transmission capacities, i.e., transmission congestion.