Combining Hourly PV Performance Modeling with an Electrolysis Technoeconomic Analysis Tool to Assess the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen for Various Solar PV + Hydrogen Electrolysis Case Studies

Hourly solar PV production profiles were modeled for 150-MWAC, single-axis tracking (SAT), bifacial PV plants at five locations, using NREL's System Advisor Model (SAM). These production profiles were utilized to determine hourly capacity factors for 25-MW, 100-MW and 150-MW proton-exchange membrane (PEM) and alkaline electrolyzer configurations. Calculated electrolyzer capacity factors along with levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for each of the five solar PV plant scenarios were utilized within the Low Carbon Resources Initiative's (LCRI) Electrolysis Technoeconomic Analysis Tool to determine the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) for 120 case studies. As a result of this work, the LCOH of solar PV + electrolysis configurations were shown to significantly reduce with the combination of Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax incentives for solar PV (48E) and hydrogen production (45V), in some cases approaching LCOHs of ∃0/kg H2. This work may be used to understand the economic effects of meeting the IRA's latest temporal matching, additionality, and deliverability criteria.