Original approach to the techno-economic optimization of wind-based electricity and green hydrogen production: Integrating Weibull analysis with multi-criteria decision-making

The energy policy in Morocco seeks to promote 52 percent of electricity produced using renewables by the year 2030. In fact, Morocco has abundant wind resources to benefit from. To address these objectives, there exists a need for an original approach to design an integrated system focused on electricity and hydrogen production using wind resources. The approach presented in the paper encompasses three main steps. The first phase revolves around identifying wind resources to constitute a complementary source to solar resources. The techno-economic step encompasses steps to design wind turbines using batteries to evaluate performance indicators. Then there's analysis using consensus ranking according to the Borda method to select the system. The approach was validated using Laayoune’s site with high wind resources. Calculations of Weibull parameters have been performed by means of ten statistical estimation techniques; the WAsP approach turned out to be the most reliable. Among twelve turbine model estimates, the Goldwind GW 140–3.4 unit provided the most accurate energy assessments. Simulation results show that the WT/BAT system (Sc1) represents the most cost-effective option: LCOE=0.102 $/kWh, LCOH=3.10 $/kg, NPC=339 million $ and annual Hydrogen Output=4371.10 t In contrast, the WT/PV/FC configuration (Sc3) yields the following values: LCOE=0.107 $/kWh, LCOH=3.27 $/kg, NPC=358 million $ and annual Hydrogen yield=4375.80 t From these, Scenario 1 provides better economic performance, while Scenario 3 improves long-term energy resilience.