A sequential decision-making framework for integrating renewable energy communities and refueling stations in hydrogen production

To meet the ever-increasing number of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs), establishing a sustainable method for hydrogen provision has become essential. In this context, the methodology presented in this paper proposes using excess power generated from residential rooftop photovoltaic (PV) panels to support refueling stations for green hydrogen production. To achieve this, we propose forming a set of Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) to aggregate excess power. In return, the aggregated refueling stations provide energy credits to support households in the RECs during demand response (DR) periods, based on their contributions to hydrogen production support. Refueling stations are equipped with Community Energy Storage System (CESS) to store electrical energy and provide it back to RECs during DR periods. To implement this concept, a sequential decision-making procedure, including three optimization-based steps, is introduced. In Step 1, RECs determine the available excess power for hydrogen production and their power requirements during DR periods. In Step 2, a coordinator at the refueling station evaluates the electrical energy offered by RECs, approves the required amount, and determines the corresponding energy credits to be allocated to them. Finally, in Step 3, RECs sell any unapproved excess electrical energy to the grid and fairly allocate any lost load among households. The proposed methodology was tested through three case studies, including a Base Case in Austin, Texas, using a combination of real and additional approximated data. Results show that participating households achieved electrical energy cost reductions of up to 11.1%–28.7% depending on the test day. Furthermore, in the proposed case, leveraging stored energy from the CESS reduced electrical energy shortfalls during DR periods by 21.4%–66.4%. From the perspective of the refueling station coordinator, approximately 3.0%–4.7% of the hydrogen produced by the electrolyzers can be supplemented through REC contributions.