SIZING AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF HYBRID PV/PEMFC SYSTEMS FOR REMOTE AREAS RESIDENTIAL UTILIZATION

One of the obstacles of using the fuel cells in remote areas is the absence of hydrogen infrastructure to supply the required fuel to the unit. However, this can be solved by producing hydrogen on-site from water electrolysis. In this paper, the sizing of a stand-alone hybrid PV/PEMFC system to supply electric power for remote residential areas is discussed. The PV system is used to supply the required electric power to a water electrolyzer. The cost of energy (COE) of the hybrid PV/PEMFC system is compared with previous works by the authors for the same residential system when supplied by two individual power sources as two alternatives. The first one is a stand-alone photovoltaic system (SAPV), while the other one is a stand alone PEMFC system. The analysis results will help to define the most economic alternative to supply electricity for remote areas.