The role of hydrogen in enhancing renewable integration in power systems

In lieu of climate change, there is a global need for green transition of energy systems. The green transition can be achieved through replacement of fossil fuels in power systems with renewable power plants such as wind power, solar power, hydro power etc. Another need of the hour is the electrification of other energy sectors beyond the power system with renewable energy – namely – heat sector, transport sector, and industry. However, hosting renewable energy in power system is challenging problem around the world mainly because the transmission networks are congested. Grid reinforcement to relieve the congestion is expensive and time-taking process which can delay the renewable integration substantially. A solution to this challenge is to integrate multi-technology renewable power plants behind a single grid connection point, referred to as a hybrid power plant. Additionally, sector-coupling with hydrogen allows further integration of renewables. This paper shows through examples and case studies that 1) with integration of hydrogen production inside a HPP allows for substantial increase in hosting capacity of renewable energy 2) sector-coupling with hydrogen allows for larger integration of renewable energy in a large sector-coupled energy system exemplified with studies for future European energy system.