Optimal RES Integration for Matching the Italian Hydrogen Strategy Requirements

In light of the Italian Hydrogen Roadmap goals, the 2030 national RES installation targets need to be redefined. This work aims to propose a more appropriate RES installation deployment on national scale, by matching the electrolysers capacity and the green hydrogen production goals. The adopted approach envisages the power-to-gas value chain priority for the green hydrogen production as a means of balancing system. Thus, the 2030 Italian energy system has been modelled and several RES installation scenarios have been simulated via EnergyPLAN software. The simulation outputs have been integrated with a breakdown model for the overgeneration RES share detection, in compliance with the PV dispatching priority of the Italian system. Therefore, the best installation solutions have been detected via multi-objective optimization model, based on the green hydrogen production, additional installation cost, critical energy excess along with the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH). Higher wind technology installations provide more competitive energy and hydrogen costs. The most suitable scenarios show that the optimal LCOH and hydrogen production values, respectively equal to 3.6 €/kg and 223 ktonH2, arise from additional PV/wind installations of 35 GW on top of the national targets.