Technical and economic study of the energy transition from natural gas to green hydrogen in Thermal Power Plants

Abstract

This research article contributes to the challenge of global warming by presenting the approach of the use of green hydrogen to reduce greenhouse gases. It shows that CO2 emissions can be significantly reduced in thermal power plants by replacing natural gas with green hydrogen as a fuel. This work presents the techno-economic study of the energy transition of a 12 MW thermal power plant based on green hydrogen. The presented study is based on the energy consumption of Nigeria, 73% of which is covered by natural gas thermal power plants. The obtained results show that the cost of this transition is ca. 17 million dollars (USD) for a reduction of 114 tCO₂ per plant with a return on investment between 4-5 years. In addition, through modeling and numerical simulation, this article shows that estimated return on investment can be shortened by using the thermal power resulting from the turbine, through industrial use.