Feasibility study of renewable energy sources for developing the hydrogen economy in Pakistan

• Published in: International journal of hydrogen energy Vol. 45; no. 32; pp. 15841 - 15854
• Main Author: Shah, Syed Ahsan Ali
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 11.06.2020
• Subjects: DEA; FAHP; Hydrogen economy; MCDA; Pakistan; Renewable energy sources; Renewable energy sources; DEA; Hydrogen economy; FAHP; Pakistan; MCDA
• ISSN: 0360-3199; 1879-3487
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.09.153

Hydrogen energy can play a pivotal part in enhancing energy security and decreasing hazardous emissions in Pakistan. However, hydrogen energy can be sustainable and clean only if it is produced from renewable energy sources (RES). Therefore, this study conducts feasibility of six RES for the generation of hydrogen in Pakistan. RES evaluated in this study include wind, solar, biomass, municipal solid waste (MSW), geothermal, and micro-hydro. RES have been evaluated using Fuzzy Delphi, fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP), and environmental data envelopment analysis (DEA). Fuzzy Delphi finalizes criteria and sub-criteria. FAHP obtains relative weights of criteria considered for choosing the optimal RES. Environmental DEA measures relative efficiency of each RES using criteria weights as outputs, and RES-based electricity generation cost as input. The results revealed wind as the most efficient source of hydrogen production in Pakistan. Micro-hydro and Solar energy can also be used for hydrogen production. Biomass, MSW, and geothermal achieved less efficiency scores and therefore are not suggested at present. •Evaluate renewable energy sources for hydrogen production in Pakistan.•Develop fuzzy MCDA framework by integrating FAHP and DEA.•Wind energy is found to be the best renewable energy source for hydrogen production.•Geothermal received least relative efficient score.