Estimativa da produção de hidrogênio verde por meio da análise da energia eólica usando variáveis atmosféricas. Estudo de caso: região nordeste do Brasil

Abstract

In Brazil, especially in the Northeast, producing energy from alternative sources such as wind power has become appropriate due to the region's favorable characteristics. The analysis of wind energy is significant when it comes to estimating electricity production. It will help companies wishing to invest in this alternative energy source to choose the most suitable location for making the best use of this type of energy resource. In addition, the electricity from these large wind turbines can be used to produce hydrogen. Specifically, green hydrogen, which is seen as an alternative for accelerating the energy transition and promoting a sustainable future. The hydrogen generated can be used to fuel vehicles, produce ammonia-based nitrogen fertilizers and reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. The study aims to analyze atmospheric data, from data processing to modeling, accuracy tests, calculations of power and energy produced, both electricity and green hydrogen production. The atmospheric variables used in this study are wind speed, temperature, atmospheric pressure and relative humidity with monthly time series. The data used comes from five weather stations of the National Institute of Meteorology (INMET), which uses an anemometer with a height of 10 meters. These stations are located in the northeast of Brazil: Fortaleza, Natal, São Luís, Recife and Aracaju. Monthly series with two distinct periods were used, the first 1961-1990 and the second 1991-2020. The analysis, modeling, simulation and estimation of electricity production with atmospheric variables is part of the study of energy potential, as it allows a better understanding of the nature of data variability, including seasonality, trend and randomness, and can detect small variations. For the analysis of climatological data, the complete time series without a time interval is often used. This implies that, regardless of the size of the series, it is not appropriate to have missing data, and it is necessary to use the data imputation technique. The results found in this study showed a good fit congruent with what was proposed, as seen in the graphs presented and the statistical analysis was considered adequate for the study due to small errors. Fortaleza stood out with the highest maximum power generated at 5.98 MW/month. In terms of green hydrogen production, Fortaleza produced 125.60 kg and São Luís produced 84.63 kg. In addition, this study aims to contribute to the wind sector by providing a tool to help investors in this area choose the most appropriate location for the best use of this type of energy resource.