Impact of management strategy on green methane production from wind energy

¹ University of Pisa, Dept. of Energy, Systems, Territory and Construction Engineering, Pisa, Italy
² Systems Analysis Unit, IMDEA Energy, 28935, Móstoles, Spain

^* Corresponding author: lorenzo.ferrari@unipi.it

Abstract

Mitigating the effects of global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions requires the adoption of sustainable practices and the promotion of renewable energies. However, in an energy scenario strongly dominated by intermittent energy sources, storage systems are becoming increasingly important. In this context, the conversion of renewable energy peaks into green hydrogen can be considered an interesting possibility. Furthermore, the use of power-to-gas systems solves, at least in a transition phase, the problems associated with the lack of infrastructure dedicated to hydrogen. In this study, a power-to-gas system producing synthetic methane from wind energy was modelled. Three management strategies were implemented and compared to assess the flexibility and versatility of the system. Results showed the importance of using an intermediate hydrogen storage tank to reduce the amount of surplus hydrogen. However, the choice of a management strategy depends on the purpose for which the power-to-methane system is designed.