HYDROGEN PHOTOVOLTAIC STAND-ALONE POWER-STATIONS - A SIZING METHOD

Photovoltaic conversion appears as a very promising technology in order to achieve the technical and economic goals for penetration into the electric energy market. Nevertheless, a serious limit to the very large diffusion of PV systems is due to the intermittence of solar radiation. Hydrogen produced via water electrolysis can be considered as an useful means to store solar energy and overcome this limit. With reference to a stand-alone power plant configuration, a PV system, integrated with electrolytic hydrogen production and a fuel cell reconversion line, is examined in order to check the technical suitability of supplying electricity to a load with time continuity. A mathematical method, which utilizes as input data the monthly average values of solar energy density on a horizontal surface is presented, which permits us to size the PV array as a function of the annual load diagram for a given solar site. The results demonstrate that PV-H-2 systems are suitable for realizing a modular stand-alone solar power station able to supply continuously generic loads.