Performance evaluation and scale optimization of a spectral splitting solar-wind-hydrogen hybrid system

To alleviate the intermittency and fluctuation of power output caused by renewable energy, a spectral splitting solar and wind complementary power generation system with hydrogen storage technology is proposed in this study. Through spectral splitting, the full spectrum utilization of solar energy is achieved, which enhancing the hydrogen production from methanol decomposition significantly. Then, the stored hydrogen doped with methane is converted into electricity by a natural gas combined cycle to guarantee the electric demand without any deficiencies. This study focuses on the scale configuration optimization based on the complementarity evaluation of natural resources. To gain comprehensive insights into the proposed system, energy, exergy and economic analyses are performed under the optimal scale configuration. Results show that the fluctuation of solar and wind power output for three cities with different meterological conditions are mitigated, while the total energy utilization efficiency ranges from 34.64 % to 38.70 %. Highest exergy loss is observed in the solar and wind power generation processes, accounting for around 38.85 %–49.60 % of the total exergy input for three cities. Overall, the feasibility of solar and wind hybrid power generation is demonstrated in this study, which providing a promising approach for the sustainable energy production and utilization.