Hydrogen microgrids to facilitate the clean energy transition in remote, northern communities

Most remote and northern communities rely on diesel for their electrical and thermal energy needs. Communities and governments are working toward diesel exit strategies, but the role of hydrogen technologies has not been explored. These could serve both electrical and thermal demand, reduce emissions, and enhance energy security and community ownership. Here, we determine the installed capacities, costs, hydrogen storage needs, and water resource requirements of hydrogen microgrids across a large, diverse sample of communities. We also compare the cost of hydrogen microgrids to that of diesel microgrids. Our results optimize resource deployment, demonstrate how sub-components must operate to serve both demand types, and yield insights on storage and resource needs. We find that hydrogen microgrids are cheaper, in levelized cost terms, than diesel systems in 28 of 37 communities investigated; if wind power capital costs escalate to CAD 20,000/kW, as recently seen in one project, only 3 of the 37 communities net hydrogen microgrids that are cheaper than diesel variants. Hydrogen storage plays a large role in maintaining reliability and reducing cost—both it and water needs are modest. The former can be met with current technologies. • Remote and northern communities rely on diesel for electricity and heat. • Governments and communities are pursuing low-carbon “diesel exit” strategies. • An optimization model of renewable+hydrogen microgrids is applied to 37 communities. • Extent of investment depends on population, climate, and quality of wind resources. • These microgrids are often cheaper than diesel, making them a viable option.