Techno-Economic Analysis of a Stand-Alone Hybrid Wind Energy System with Fuel Cell Case Study: Kouhin Region in Qazvin

Reducing fossil energy resources and increasing greenhouse gases necessitate the need of clean sources of energy. One of the sources of renewable energy is wind power which has been developed in recent years. Sometimes, wind power in peak hours does not respond. Hence, a storage system and backup power for such power plants seem necessary. In this study, a hybrid system, consisting of electrolyzer hydrogen storage and fuel cells, has been presented for a wind farm to provide not only the reliable power but also valuable by-products. In this paper, a case study for this system has been undertaken in the Kouhin area of Qazvin province. The technical and economic optimization of the system has suggested that in the best-case scenario (consisting of 3 wind turbines), the annual production rate of the hybrid system would be 1795 MWh, 12% of which is the share of fuel cells. The results showed that the hybrid system led into 10.8% increase in the amount of wind power capacity factor as well. The calculated cost of energy (COE) and the net present cost (NPC) for the hybrid system would amount to 0.7599 and 5,235,066 USD, respectively.