INTEGRATING RENEWABLES FOR REMOTE FUEL SYSTEMS INTÉGRATION DES ÉNERGIES RENOUVELABLES DANS DES RÉGIONS ÉLOIGNÉES

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1 INTEGRATING RENEWABLES FOR REMOTE FUEL SYSTEMS INTÉGRATION DES ÉNERGIES RENOUVELABLES DANS DES RÉGIONS ÉLOIGNÉES RONNY GLÖCKNER, IFE, NORWAY ØYSTEIN ULLEBERG, IFE, NORWAY RAGNE HILDRUM, STATKRAFT SF, NORWAY CATHERINE E. GRÉGOIRE PADRÓ, NREL, USA 1. INTRODUCTION - INTRODUCTION Hydrogen energy systems have been proposed as a means to increase energy independence, improve domestic economies, and reduce greenhouse gas and other harmful emissions from stationary and mobile sources. These systems, however, face technical and economic barriers that must be overcome before hydrogen can become a competitive energy carrier for the 21st century. A wind-h2 system for a remote location was studied to determine the feasibility of producing hydrogen for transportation applications. This case study was initiated by STATKRAFT SF, Norway s largest producer of hydroelectric power and the second largest producer in the Nordic region. The modelling work was performed by the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE). The study has then been undertaken as a case study by the International Energy Agency Hydrogen Implementing Agreement s Annex 13 Design and Optimization of Integrated Systems. Eight participating countries (Canada, Japan, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and USA) are cooperating to develop an understanding of the technical, economic, and social issues related to the introduction of hydrogen energy systems. 2. BACKGROUND - PROBLÉMATIQUE In Norway, more than 99% of the electricity demand is supplied by hydropower. During the last 1 years, however, public resistance based on environmental issues has virtually brought the development of the remainder of these resources to a standstill. Because of the increase in power demand and good wind resources along a sparsely populated coastline (a potential of around 1 TWh/year is recognised), the focus on wind energy plants has grown over the last years. It seems that the public resistance, especially in the early phase of the introduction of large-scale wind energy development, is smaller than is the case for further hydropower development. Over the last year (2), the Norwegian government has approved several applications for building of wind parks, in total amounting to some 3 MW peak power. The selected locations for Norwegian wind parks are remote areas, such as islands, where the best wind resources are found. The wind parks will produce power for the small communities in these areas, but also for the common electricity grid as a complement to the existing hydropower. In this study, the production and use of hydrogen in fuel cells in relation to such wind parks is discussed. A wind/electrolyser-based hydrogen refuelling station taking the base power from one of the large windmills in a wind park is modelled. The hydrogen produced is assumed to be used in buses operating the public transport on the remote location. At a later stage, hydrogen for operation of ferries would also be an attractive alternative. The existence of a low-voltage grid is assumed for this study. In practice, this enables testing under constant conditions during the commissioning period. In the modelling work, the assumption of a weak grid enables the identification of several cases of operation of the filling station. In addition to a grid-connected case, two cases where the power from the renewable energy source (wind) is used to run the filling station autonomously are identified and discussed. 3. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION - DESCRIPTION DU SYSTÈME As mentioned above, the wind-h 2 energy system is connected to a low-voltage grid (22 kv). The H 2 system receives power from a 2 MW variable speed Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS). The produced hydrogen is stored as compressed gas at 3 bar. The simulations were done using the computer modelling code; TRaNsient SYStem simulation program (TRNSYS). TRNSYS is a modular simulation tool where components are connected much like in an actual system. For this study, detailed technical models developed at IFE since 1995 where applied. The models comprise the Proceedings of the 18th World Energy Congress, October 21, Buenos Aires, Argentina

2 components: Alkaline electrolysers, hydrogen storage, power conditioning, compressors, WECS and system control units [1]. A schematic drawing of the wind-h 2 energy system is shown in Figure I. Figure I: Schematic presentation of the wind-h 2 energy system - Diagramme du système de conversion d énergie éolienne en hydrogène 3.1 Wind resources - Resources éoliennes A three-year wind speed (m/s) data series with a time-step of 1 hour from a measurement station at a specific remote location along the Norwegian coastline was used as input to the simulation. The actual time period used in this study was: Start date/time: , :: Stop date/time: , 23:: No. of data points: 2634 Wind-speed data recorded mostly at a height of 5 meters (in smaller periods of time at 3 meters) where extrapolated to 67 meters, which is the hub height of the WECS used in the modelling. The wind data are presented in Figure II. 3.2 WECS power output - Rendement électrique du système de conversion d énergie éolienne The WECS is of the type VESTAS V8 with a maximum power output of 2 MW. In order to simulate the power contribution from this windmill, a linear extrapolation to the measured data of wind speed and power output, as supplied by VESTAS Wind Systems A/S (Denmark), was made. A representation of the power output from the WECS as a function of wind speed is shown in Figure III. 2

3 35 3 v WIND (m / s) time (weeks) Figure II: Wind speed (in m/s) as a function of time (in weeks) for the 3 years period. In order to visualise summer and winter variations, a smoothed curve is also presented. Three winter seasons with good wind resources are seen - Vitesse du vent (en m/s) en fonction du temps (en heures). Le profil attenué est présenté pour visualiser les variations entre l été et l hiver. Trois saisons d hiver avec des vents favorables sont montrés 2 P WECS (kw) v cutin = 4 m/s v RATED = 14 m/s v cutout = 25 m/s v (m / s) Figure III: Power/wind speed characteristics for the VESTAS V8 (2MW) WECS. The line represents the linear extrapolation used in the simulations. No hysteresis loop is assumed upon reentering the valid wind speed range from wind speeds above 25 m/s - Énergie produite par le système VESTAS V8 en fonction de la vitesse du vent. La ligne continue représente le résultat de la simulation. Pas de cycle d hystérese lorsque, une fois en dessus de 25 km/h, on revient dans la gamme de vitesses valables 3

4 3.3 Electroyser and storage - Electrolyseur et stockage d hydrogène In this study electrolyser technology from Gesellschaft für Hochleistungselektrolyseure zur Wasserstofferzeugung mbh (GHW) is chosen [2]. GHW develops alkaline electrolysers with a nominal operating temperature of 7-8 C and a working pressure of 3 bar. The GHW electrolysers are especially advantageous with the unpredictability of wind resources as they can take variations in power ranging from 2% up to 1% of maximum rated power. Figure IV shows the voltage-current characteristics for the GHW electrolyser applied in the modelling Ucell, V/cell 1.6 GHW Electrolyzer p = 3 bar U cell U cell,meas 1.4 T = 8 C i c, ma/cm^2 Figure IV: Voltage-current (U-I) characteristics of the GHW electrolyser used in the simulation - Relation entre la tension et le courant dans l électrolyseur GHW utilisé pour la simulation Hydrogen is stored at a pressure of 3 bar. A compressor is used to increase the hydrogen pressure from 3 bar (the operating pressure of the electrolyser) to the storage pressure. The size of the storage unit depends on the operating scenario, as described in Section Mini-buses - Minibus The hydrogen load is represented by three PEM fuel cell powered mini-buses. The fuel demand and other technical information on the fuel cell mini-buses are listed in Table I. Table I: Technical data for H 2 fuelled PEMFC vehicles - Données techniques pour des vehicules avec pile à combustible Vehicle type 16-seat mini-bus No. of vehicles 3 Onboard storage capacity 12 Nm 2 bar = 1.7 kg Fuel consumption.6 Nm 3. km -1 [3] Driving range 2 km Filling frequency day -1 4

5 4. DEFINITION OF CASES - DÉFINITION DES CAS Three distinct cases with regard to the operation of the electrolyser are described: one case with constant operation (drawing electricity from the grid); and two cases with variable operation of the electrolyser (true stand-alone systems). 4.1 Electrolyser operated at constant power (Case 1) - Électrolyseur opéré à puissance constante (le Cas 1) The electrolyser can be operated at constant power. For a wind-h 2 system, however, this will require that power be supplied from the grid during times of poor wind resources. Based on the information in Table I, 32 kg of hydrogen are required each day. We assume that the filling of all three mini-buses is possible within 1 hour (fast-fill). The size of H 2 storage unit and the electrolyser may then be easily calculated. Based on manufacturers data, the energy required by the electrolyser, when operated constantly at maximum power, is 4.4 kwh/nm 3 H 2 [2]. This gives a total energy demand per filling of 12 Nm 3 x 3 x 4.4 kwh/nm 3 = 1584 kwh. In 24 hours this equals an electrolyser of capacity 1584 kwh / 24 h = 66 kw. The size of the storage is also easily estimated by taking the total amount of H 2 needed per day, 32 kg /.8988 kg/nm 3 = 36 Nm 3. At 3 bar, this is around 1.7 m 3 physical gas volume (adding a lower and upper dead-band of 2% + 2% = 4%). For comparison, this is equivalent to about 5 x 5-liter bottles of commercially available H 2 at 2 bar. The electrolyser and H 2 storage unit sizes for Case 1 are summarised in Table II. The state of charge (SOC) of the H 2 storage unit is shown in Figure V. Table II: Dimensions of electrolyser and H 2 -storage unit for Case 1 - Dimensions de l électrolyseur et de l unité de stockage d hydrogène, le Cas 1. Component Value Unit Electrolyser 66 kw Compressed H 2 storage unit 1.7 m 3 (tank volume) 5 Nm 3 H 2 45 kg H 2 upper dead-band SOC lower dead-band time Figure V: Schematic representation of state of charge (SOC) of H 2 storage in the case where the electrolyser is operated at constant power (Case 1) - Diagramme représentant le niveau de charge (SOC) du stockage d hydrogène dans le cas où l électrolyseur opère à puissance constante (le Cas 1) 5

6 Continuous operation of the electrolyser requires that power be supplied from the grid at times of low wind resources. For Case 1, 19% of the energy needed to operate the electrolyser continuously at 66 kw must be supplied from the grid for the 3-year period under study here. The power from the WECS is insufficient to operate the electrolyser at full power for about 24% of the time. For sake of illustration, the electrolyser power profile for a critical wind resource period ( ) is shown in Figure VI. from WECS from GRID 7 6 Power (kw) time (h) Figure VI: Power distribution for the electrolyser in Case 1 for a critical wind resource period. Approximately 73 kw are directed to the electrolyser (includes 1% loss in the inverter) - Distribution de puissance électrique pour l électrolyseur dans le cas 1 pour la période de vent faible 4.2 Stand-alone operation (Cases 2 & 3) - Opération de l electrolyseur isolé (les Cas 2 et 3) In Cases 2 and 3, where the electrolyser receives power from the WECS only, the storage and electrolyser have to be somewhat over-sized. Figure VII illustrates the fraction of the power from the WECS that is directed to the electrolyser. If the power output from the WECS is between the lower and upper power limit for the electrolyser (2-1% of maximum power), then all power from the WECS is directed to the electrolyser. If, on the other hand, the WECS produces more power than the electrolyser can utilise, then the over-shooting power is distributed to the grid. Also if the power from the WECS is lower than needed for operating of the electrolyser at 2%, the power is instead distributed to the grid Direct-connect Scenario (Case 2) - Scénario de connection directe (le Cas 2) In Case 2, the electrolyser is operated whenever there are wind resources and the storage unit is over-dimensioned accordingly. To determine the appropriate electrolyser and storage unit sizes, optimisation calculations were performed to achieve a design where no hydrogen is dumped by ventilation to the surroundings and where the storage unit is never entirely drained. The electrolyser and storage unit dimensions are given in Table III. Figure VIII shows the distribution of power from the WECS to the electrolyser in a selected 4 days period. The optimal solution for Case 2 shows that the 6

7 electrolyser will only need to be over-dimensioned by 45% (from 66 to 98 kw). The SOC of the storage unit will reflect the variations in wind resources as a function of time and show peaks during wintertime and minima during summertime. The resulting storage unit SOC is shown in Figure IX. Power from WECS (arbitrary units) P GRID P ELECTROLYSER P MAX (ELECTROLYSER) P MIN (ELECTROLYSER) time (arbitrary units) Figure VII: Schematic presentation of power distribution from the WECS. The grey area represents power distributed to the electrolyser while the hatched areas represent the power sent to the grid - Diagramme de la distribution d énergie électrique venant du système de conversion d énergie éolienne. La surface grise représente l énergie fournie à l électrolyseur, la surface hachurée représente l énergie envoyée au réseau Table III: Summary of electrolyser and storage unit capacity for Case 2 - Données sur l électrolyseur et sur l unité de stockage d hydrogène pour le Cas 2 Component Value Unit Electrolyser 98 kw Compressed H 2 storage unit 5 m 3 (tank volume) 118 Nm 3 H 2 16 kg H 2 This control strategy electrolyser operation whenever there are wind resources results in an operation profile as presented in Figure X. Here we see that the electrolyser is operated at 8-1% of its maximum power for ~75% of the time and that it is idling ~1% of the time. 7

8 P WECS P ELECTROLYSER Power (kw) time (h) Figure VIII: The distribution of power to the electrolyser from the WECS for a 1-hour period for Case 2. The horizontal dotted lines represent the upper and lower limits of electrolyzer operation - Distribution de puissance du système de conversion d énergie éolienne (WECS) pendant une période de 1 heures pour le Cas 2. Les lignes horizontales pointillées représentent les limites d opération de l électrolyseur 1..9 State of Charge (SOC) time (weeks) Figure IX: Storage state of charge (SOC) for Case 2 for a 5 m 3 storage unit at 3 bar (118 Nm 3 ). The dashed line indicates fulfilment of energy conservation over the 3-year period - Niveau de charge de l unité de stockage d dydrogéne de capacité de 5 m 3 à la pression de 3 bars (118 Nm 3 ) pour le Cas 2 8

9 8 7 % of maximum power IDLE 2-4% 4-6% 6-8% 8-1% Power fraction Figure X: Operation profile for the electrolyser of Case 2 - Profil d opération de l électrolyseur pour le Cas Top-charging Scenario (Case 3) - Opération du système à haut niveau de charge (le Cas 3) In Case 3, the electrolyser operation is guided by the SOC of the H 2 -storage unit. This case represents a so-called top-charging scenario. The electrolyser and storage unit are dimensioned so as to keep the storage SOC within the dead-band when possible. This type of control routine is commonly used in stand-alone systems based on energy storage in batteries [1]. The lower and upper dead-bands were set to.8 and.94, respectively, for Case 3. Hence, the electrolyser is set to idling when the upper limit is reached and set to operate when the lower limit is reached. The aim of this strategy was to minimize the storage unit size. The storage unit size was set to 7.35 m 3 at 3 bar. This is comparative to a commercially available storage solution comprised of a 2-feet container with 147 x 5 l bottles at 3 bar. In order to keep this storage unit from being exhausted at any time during the 3-year period, the electrolyser capacity had to be increasing to some 23 kw, an electrolyser capacity that is nearly 3.5 times that of the constant operation situation of Case 1. The electrolyser and storage unit dimensions for Case 3 are summarised in Table IV. Table IV: Summary of electrolyser and storage unit size for Case 3 - Données sur l électrolyseur et sur l unité de stockage d hydrogène pour le Cas 3 Component Value Unit Electrolyser 23 KW Compressed H 2 storage unit 7.35 m 3 (tank volume) 1743 Nm 3 H kg H 2 9

10 Figure XI shows the distribution of power from the WECS in a selected one-week period. Figure XII shows the SOC for the H 2 storage unit of Case 3. Dips in SOC will appear at times of continuously low wind resources and will set the storage unit size for a given electrolyser capacity P WECS P ELECTROLYSER Power (kw) time (h) Figure XI: The distribution of power to the electrolyser from the WECS for a 1-hour period for Case 3. The horizontal dotted lines represent the upper and lower limits of electrolyzer operation - Distribution de puissance du système de conversion d énergie éolienne (WECS) pendant une période de 1 heures pour le Cas 3. Les lignes horizontales pointillées représentent les limites d opération de l électrolyseur State of Charge (SOC) time (weeks) Figure XII: Storage state of charge (SOC) for Case 3 for a 7.35 m 3 storage unit at 3 bar (1743 Nm 3 ) Niveau de charge de l unité de stockage d hydrogène de capacité de 7.5 m 3 à la pression de 3 bars (1743 Nm 3 ) pour le Cas 3 1

11 Figure XIII shows the operation profile for Case 3. In the top-charging strategy of Case 3, the electrolyser operates at near full power 3% of the time, while it is idling 6% of the time. 6 % of maximum power IDLE 2-4% 4-6% 6-8% 8-1% Power fraction Figure XIII: Operation profile for the electrolyser of Case 3 - Profil d opération de l électrolyseur pour le Cas 3 5. CONCLUSIONS - CONCLUSIONS Based on calculated component sizes, Case 1 will be the least costly in terms of capital investment. This is because both the electrolyser and the storage unit are held at the lowest possible size/capacity for this case. Case 2 seems unrealistic in that it requires a storage unit with a capacity of 118 Nm 3, which is both practically difficult to achieve and also associated with high investment costs. Case 3 also requires an over-dimensioning of the electrolyser and storage unit. To make Case 3 more realistic and avoid prolonged periods of idling, the electrolyser should be operated such that it is never switched off, but regulated between 2% and 1% power. This will, however, not contribute to a reduction in the electrolyser size given the size of the storage unit or vice versa. The storage-unit size will still be dependent on the length of the periods of low wind resources and the electrolyser size set. The storage-unit size of Case 3 can be somewhat reduced by setting the lower limit of the dead-band to a higher value. This will have an impact on the average time of operation/idling for the electrolyser. With a very narrow bandwidth, the electrolyser will be switched between idling and H 2 production at a higher frequency. With regard to start-up time and handling of fast transients, this may not be an acceptable electrolyser operation control strategy. Depending on the electrolyser solution chosen, these possible restraints should be added to the modelling code. 6. FUTURE WORK - TRAVAIL FUTUR In this work, a known hydrogen load (3 mini-buses) was selected, but models with less stringent requirements should also be developed. One scenario of interest would include adding a small- to medium-sized fuel cell to the system, enabling distribution of electrical power to an application or to 11

12 the grid in times of low consumption of hydrogen. This would make the system more flexible. In addition, cost models should be included in the model library to enable users to identify break-even points with regard to control strategies and type of technology installed. Finally, the potential for hydrogen energy systems for load levelling in weak grids should also be investigated. 7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS - REMERCIEMENTS The authors wishes to acknowledge Kjeller Vindteknikk AS (KVT - wind consulting company) for the fruitful discussions and aid in constructing the complete wind data series. 8. REFERENCES - RÉFÉRENCES [1] Øystein Ulleberg, Stand-alone power systems for the future: Optimal design, operation & control of solar-hydrogen energy systems, PhD thesis at Norwegian Technical University, Trondheim (1998) [2] Technical data communicated by H. Hofmann of MTU, Friedrichshafen-GmbH, Germany [3] Communicated by R. Hamelmann at Proton Motor GmbH, Germany 12