Validation of an Isolated System for Renewable Hydrogen Production through Offshore Wind Power using OPAL-RT

Abstract

Expanding the range of available and affordable low-carbon technologies becomes increasingly important to achieve the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 and meet the increasing global targets for sustainable energy. Offshore wind energy for renewable hydrogen production is seen as a viable option and a compelling example of a technology ready to make a significant difference in future energy systems. On the other hand, this system has some complexity in modeling and analyzing Brazilian scenarios. The literature reflects this complexity, not including a detailed technical analysis of implementing hydrogen production projects using offshore wind energy in Brazil. Then, this work validates through a Real-Time (RT) simulation an islanded microgrid system for renewable hydrogen production from an Offshore Wind Farm (OWF) of 120 MW, a 12 MW battery energy storage system (BESS), and a 120 MW electrolysis system with 6 polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzers, each with a capacity of 20 MW. The system control is divided into two levels: the top level, at which the Power Management System (PMS) control sets the references to the local control of each component of the system, which is represented as the bottom level control. Wind speed data is obtained using the ERA5 database, which covers a maximum distance of 50 km from the Port of Açu, located in the northern part of Rio de Janeiro State. Experimental simulations show detailed hydrogen production, the system’s dynamics for different weather conditions, and stability monitoring through the Voltage- and Frequency-curve.