Assessing sizing optimality of OFF-GRID AC-linked solar PV-PEM systems for hydrogen production

Herein, a novel methodology to perform optimal sizing of AC-linked solar PV-PEM systems is proposed. The novelty of this work is the proposition of the solar plant to electrolyzer capacity ratio (AC/AC ratio) as optimization variable. The impact of this AC/AC ratio on the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) and the deviation of the solar DC/AC ratio when opti-mized specifically for hydrogen production are quantified. Case studies covering a Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI) range of 1400-2600 kWh/m(2)-year are assessed. The obtained LCOHs range between 5.9 and 11.3 USD/kgH(2) depending on sizing and location. The AC/AC ratio is found to strongly affect cost, production and LCOH optimality while the optimal solar DC/AC ratio varies up to 54% when optimized to minimize the cost of hydrogen instead of the cost of energy only. Larger oversizing is required for low GHI locations; however, H-2 production is more sensitive to sizing ratios for high GHI locations