A comprehensive evaluation of hydrogen production from photovoltaic power station

This paper presents the viability of hydrogen production through electrolysis process supported by a photovoltaic power system. To achieve this goal, economic feasibility and annual performance of 20 kW photovoltaic power station located in Yazd City in Iran is assessed though both experimental study and simulation. The data pertaining to real and simulated power output for the period of July 2012 to the end of June 2013 were compared and evaluated using the reference cell component of PVsyst simulation software. The real and simulated power output of the station is then used to assess its potential for PV-hydrogen production. Efficiency of the electrolyzer is considered to be 90% with power consumption of 5 KWh/Nm3. According to the results, over the period of one year, panels receive 299.376 MW/h of solar radiation on their surface, and they manage to convert 12.32% (36.91 MWh) of the incoming solar radiation into electricity with the highest output in August and the lowest in December. Simulation of the power station shows that overshadowing effect reduces the output of power station by about 5%. It was also found that applying the monthly optimal angles instead of annual optimal angles on panels increases the power output by 6.83% without considering the overshadowing effect, and by 3% while considering that effect. After assessing the real and simulated power output of the station, the potential of PV-hydrogen production is estimated to be 373 t per year (actual production) with the highest output being in August. Results show that the region is capable of generating electricity for hydrogen production.