Techno-economic Analysis of Green Hydrogen Production from Excess Power Hydropower Plant

Green hydrogen is an alternative clean energy carrier that can replace fossil fuels in multiple sectors. The high cost of production is one of the challenges in implementing green hydrogen. This research will analyze the production of green hydrogen from excess power hydropower plants. By using excess power, the electricity cost component is expected to be eliminated to reduce green hydrogen production costs. Excess power is obtained by utilizing spilled water when the hydropower plant is not operated at maximum load. The green hydrogen plant configuration that best suits the operating characteristics of the hydropower plant is analyzed to obtain the lowest hydrogen price. The analysis shows that the most optimal system configuration is a 2 MW PEM electrol yzer, 74.21 kW hydrogen compressor, and hydrogen tank with a capacity of 1000 kg H₂ and a maximum pressure of 350 bar. This system configuration produces 131 tons of green hydrogen per year with an LCOH of 5.15 USD per kg H₂. After the electricity cost component is eliminated, the breakdown cost analysis shows that the most significant cost component is the electrolyzer. Using 131 tons of green hydrogen to replace grey hydrogen in the fertilizer industry can reduce emissions by 1,179 tons CO_2e per year.