Techno-economic assessment of wind energy for renewable hydrogen production in Sweden

Wind energy deployment has been growing globally. The resource is expected to play an important role in achieving economic and environmental sustainability - depending on its level of availability, economics, and policy. Sweden has committed to have 20 TWh/year production of onshore wind energy in the national electricity sector by the year 2020. Further, Sweden has a target for a fossil fuel free transport sector by 2030. Local wind energy coupled to electrolysis-derived hydrogen fuel production offers a pathway for achieving both targets. The analysis of wind energy’s potential in this context necessitates a new type of approach, one that captures the complexities of wind turbine siting in relation to the build-up of hydrogen infrastructure, including refueling stations. In this thesis, high-resolution spatial assessments were performed to evaluate wind energy and wind-to-hydrogen energy potentials, including land use restrictions and techno-economic evaluations. The methodology combines analysis with Geographic Information System (GIS) data and the Hybrid Optimization Model for Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) tool and includes key constraints with the purpose of improving the fidelity of the assessments. Overall, significant potentials for wind and hydrogen energy might be harnessed in Sweden. Wind-generated hydrogen can be produced cost-effectively at selected sites along existing roads. After applying a large array of land use restrictions, results show that around 31% of the total land area is viable for wind energy applications in the country. In total, 190 TWh/year wind electricity could be generated in areas within 30 km from the national electricity grid. Moreover, approximately 25580 kton/year of hydrogen fuel could be supplied by installing wind turbines on the viable land area. While considering standalone wind-powered hydrogen refueling stations, the cost of hydrogen lies in the range of 6-10 USD∕kg, depending on wind speed models employed and other factors. Note that this study does not evaluate how these new wind or hydrogen production potentials might be integrated into the energy sector