Techno-Economic Potential of Wind-Based Green Hydrogen Production in Djibouti: Literature Review and Case Studies

Abstract

Disputed supply chains, inappropriate weather and low investment, followed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has led to a phenomenal energy crisis, especially in the Horn of Africa. Accordingly, proposing eco-friendly and sustainable solutions to diversify the access of electricity in the Republic of Djibouti, which has no conventional energy resources and is completely energy-dependent on its neighboring countries, has become a must. Therefore, the implementation of sustainable renewable and energy storage systems is nationally prioritized. This paper deals, for the first time, with the exploitation of such an affordable and carbon-free resource to produce hydrogen from wind energy in the rural areas of Nagad and Bara Wein in Djibouti. The production of hydrogen and the relevant CO2 emission reduction using different De Wind D6, Vestas and Nordex wind turbines are displayed while using Alkaline and Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzers. The Bara Wein and Nagad sites had a monthly wind speed above 7 m/s. From the results, the Nordex turbine accompanied with the alkaline electrolyzer provides the most affordable electricity production, approximately 0.0032 $/kWh for both sites; this cost is about one per hundred the actual imported hydroelectric energy price. Through the ecological analysis, the Nordex turbine is the most suitable wind turbine, with a CO2 emission reduction of 363.58 tons for Bara Wein compared to 228.76 tons for Nagad. While integrating the initial cost of wind turbine implementation in the capital investment, the mass and the levelized cost of the produced green hydrogen are estimated as (29.68 tons and 11.48 $/kg) for Bara Wein with corresponding values of (18.68 tons and 18.25 $/kg) for Nagad.