Solar hydrogen hybrid energy systems for off-grid electricity supply: A critical review

Z. Abdin, C.J. Webb and E.MacA. Gray

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2015, vol. 52, issue C, 1791-1808

Abstract: Large areas in many countries are populated but have no connection to a national electricity grid. Centralised electricity generating facilities burning fossil fuels have been the norm. Renewable energy resources, especially solar/wind energy, are now penetrating this sector. Long-term energy storage is the universal challenge in providing renewables-based electricity with high availability across the seasons. Here we review and discuss the use of hydrogen as the energy vector by means of which solar/wind energy is transformed, stored and made available as electricity. The dominant system configuration is presently photovoltaic electricity used to electrolyse water to produce hydrogen, which is stored as a pressurised gas or metal-hydride, then retrieved from storage to generate electricity in a fuel cell. We survey the demonstration projects reported in the literature and discuss the need for authoritative system modelling in order to size the system components for minimum cost at a designated availability of supply.

Keywords: Solar; Hybrid energy system; Energy vector; Hydrogen production; Hydrogen storage; Electrolysis; Fuel cell (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2015.08.011

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