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ABSTRACT
With green hydrogen gaining traction as a viable sustainable energy option, the present study explores the potential of producing green hydrogen from wind and solar energy in Ghana. The study combined the use of geospatial multi-criteria approach and PEM electrolysis process to estimate the geographical and technical potential of the selected two renewable resources. The study also included an assessment of potential areas for grid integration. Technology specifications of a monocrystalline solar PV module and 1 MW wind turbine module were applied. Results of the assessment show that about 85% of the total land area in the country is available for green hydrogen projects. Technically, capacities of ∼14,196.21 Mt of green hydrogen using solar and ∼10,123.36 Mt/year from wind energy can be produced annually in the country. It was also observed that some regions, especially regions in the northern part of the country even though showed the most favourable locations for solar-based green hydrogen projects with technical potential of over 1500 Mt/year, these regions may not qualify for a grid connected system based on the current electrification policy of the country due to the regions’ low population density and distance from the power grid network threshold.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank this journal and its anonymous reviewers for peer-reviewing this paper. Special thanks to my academic supervisors for their guidance. Also grateful to family and friends for their continuous support and encouragement. Credit author statement: This article was independently written by the author. All datasets used in the study are open-sourced and have duly been referenced. The ArcGIS software licence used for this study was provided by the University of Flensburg.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Correction Statement
This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
Notes
1 Million tonnes.
2 Energy and electricity have been used interchangeably in this study to refer to same.
3 Wind speed cut-in is the point at which the turbine starts producing electricity from turning.
4 Wind speed cut-out is the maximum wind speed at which the turbine gets so fast and stands the risk of damage from operating further.