Technical Feasibility Analysis and Design of Adding Electrolyser to an Existing Solar Farm: Case Study in Deakin Solar Farm

In conjunction with net zero goals, adding a hydrogen cycle to a renewable energy microgrid becomes of interest to industry partners and government sectors. However, investing in a green hydrogen system requires a strategic feasibility study, which might face difficulties in addressing the technical challenges in water and power engineering, particularly in regional areas. In this project, we developed a digital platform to evaluate the water and power consumption as well as hydrogen and oxygen production yields, considering two scenarios. In the first scenario, we targeted the existing solar farm at Deakin University, and attempted to calculate the feasible size of electrolyser to add to the solar farm. The digital platform will provide us with the water and power consumption needed to produce hydrogen and oxygen. In the second scenario, we attempted to generalize the design for different locations and inputs. The project has been carried out based on a current practical need for renewable energy systems that are capable of accommodating water electrolysis to better complement the energy storage capability of batteries.