Utilization of excess water accumulation for green hydrogen production in a run-of-river hydropower plant

• Published in: Renewable energy 2022-08, Vol.195, p.780-794
• Main Authors: Jovan, David Jure, Dolanc, Gregor, Pregelj, Boštjan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Green hydrogen; Hydrogen production cost; Hydropower plant; Power-to-gas
• ISSN: 0960-1481; 1879-0682
• DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2022.06.079

This paper discusses the potential for green-hydrogen production in a run-of-river hydropower plant. This particular hydropower plant has no significant water accumulation, but there is the potential for limited hydrogen production due to a mismatch between the daily predefined electricity production (known as the timetable) and the actual water inflows. The timetable for the hydropower plant is prepared by the operator of the electro-energetic system based on a model of the available production capacities, forecasted consumption, water accumulation, state of the river flows, weather forecasts and the system operator's strategy. The uncertainty in the model's input parameters is reflected in the output timetable for the hydropower plant and, for this reason, a small reserve of water for potential exploitation is envisaged. By using real data for the timetable and the water inflow, we estimate the excess hydropower that can be used for hydrogen cogeneration. Since the primary task of the hydropower plant is to produce electricity according to the timetable, the production of hydrogen is only possible to a limited extent. Therefore, we present a control algorithm that regulates the amount of hydrogen production, while considering the predefined timetable and the real water accumulation. The second part of the paper deals with the economic viability of hydrogen cogeneration in the case-study run-of-river hydropower plant and discusses the possibility of using it for local public transport.