• Clean Technology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.182-192
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• 2022

This study provides an overview of the production costs of methane and hydrogen via water electrolysis-based hydrogen production followed by a methanation based methane production technology utilizing CO₂ from external sources. The study shows a comparative way for economic optimization of green methane generation using excess free electricity from renewable sources. The study initially developed the overall process on the Aspen Plus simulation tool. Aspen Plus estimated the capital expenditure for most of the equipment except for the methanation reactor and electrolyzer. The capital expenditure, the operating expenditure and the feed cost were used in a discounted cash flow based economic model for the methane production cost estimation. The study compared different reactor configurations as well. The same model was also used for a hydrogen production cost estimation. The optimized economic model estimated a methane production cost of $11.22/mcf when the plant is operating for 4000 hr/year and electricity is available for zero cost. Furthermore, a hydrogen production cost of $2.45/GJ was obtained. A sensitivity analysis was performed for the methane production cost as the electrolyzer cost varies across different electrolyzer types. A sensitivity study was also performed for the changing electricity cost, the number of operation hours per year and the plant capacity. The estimated levelized cost of methane (LCOM) in this study was less than or comparable with the existing studies available in the literature.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.61-71
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• 2023

The necessity of energy utilization using livestock manure has been proposed with the decrease in domestic agricultural land. Livestock manure solid fuel has been investigated as a promising energy resource owing to its convenient storage and use in agricultural and livestock fields. Additional electricity production is possible through the integration of a biomass combustion boiler with the organic Rankine cycle (ORC). In this study, a mathematical system model of the cattle manure solid fuel boiler integrated with the ORC was developed to analyze the components' performance under variable operating conditions. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to confirm the electrical efficiency of the ORC turbine and the applicability of this system. The minimum required waste heat recovery rate was derived considering the system marginal price and levelized cost of electricity of the ORC. The simulation results showed that, in Korea, more than 77.98% of waste heat recovery and utilization in ORC turbines is required to achieve economic feasibility through ORC application.

• Bulletin of the Korea Photovoltaic Society
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.55-62
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• 2017

전기차 보급의 확대에 따라 배터리의 사용연한 도래 시 폐배터리의 누적규모도 전기차 판매량에 비례하여 증가할 것으로 보인다. 국가 별 규제로 인해 배터리의 재활용(Recycle) 의무가 있는 자동차 제조사를 중심으로 폐배터리를 재사용(Battery Second Use: B2U)한 ESS(Energy Storage System) 제품을 출시하거나 이를 활용한 실증 과제를 운영 중에 있다. 전기차 배터리의 성능 보증 수준은 통상 초기용량의 80%로, 보증이 완료된 폐배터리를 낮은 가격으로 매입하여 ESS로 활용할 경우 초기용량의 60%까지 사용 후 폐기할 수 있다. 따라서 B2U 제품은 신규 배터리 셀을 사용하는 ESS 제품 대비 가격은 저렴하나, 20년 이상 사용하는 태양광 시스템과 연계 시 4~6회 교체가 필요하다. 이러한 배경에서 본 고에서는 가정용 태양광 시스템에 신규 배터리를 사용한 가정용 ESS 제품과 B2U ESS 제품 연계 시 에너지 균등화 비용(Levelized Cost of Energy: LCOE)을 비교하여 B2U 제품의 경제적 타당성을 추정한다.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.707-714
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• 2022

Hydrogen production using solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOEC) is a promising technology because of its efficiency, cleanness, and scalability. Especially, high-power SOEC system has received a lot of attention from researchers. This study compared and analyzed the low-power and high-power SOEC system in term of economic. By using revenue requirement method, levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) was calculated for comparison. In addition, the sensitivity analysis was performed to determine the dependence of hydrogen cost on input variables. The results indicated that high-power SOEC system is superior to a low-power SOEC system. In the capital cost, the stack cost is dominant in both systems, but the electricity cost is the most contributed factor to the hydrogen cost. If the high-power SOEC system combines with a nuclear power plant, the hydrogen cost can reach 3.65 $/kg when the electricity cost is 3.28 ¢/kWh and the stack cost is assumed to be 574 $/kW.

• Clean Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.53-58
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• 2023

This study shows the summary of the economic performance of excess electricity conversion to hydrogen as well as methane and returned conversion to electricity using a fuel cell. The methane production process has been examined in a previous study. Here, this study focuses on the conversion of methane to electricity. As a part of this study, capital expenditure (CAPEX) is estimated under various sized plants (0.3, 3, 9, and 30 MW). The study shows a method for economic optimization of electricity generation using a fuel cell. The CAPEX and operating expenditure (OPEX) as well as the feed cost are used to calculate the discounted cash flow. Then the levelized cost of returned electricity (LCORE) is estimated from the discounted cash flow. This study found the LCORE value was ¢10.2/kWh electricity when a 9 MW electricity generating fuel cell was used. A methane production plant size of 1,500 Nm³/hr, a methane production cost of $11.47/mcf, a storage cost of $1/mcf, and a fuel cell efficiency of 54% were used as a baseline. A sensitivity analysis was performed by varying the storage cost, fuel cell efficiency, and excess electricity cost by ±20%, and fuel cell efficiency was found as the most dominating parameter in terms of the LCORE sensitivity. Therefore, for the best cost-performance, fuel cell manufacturing and efficiency need to be carefully evaluated. This study provides a general guideline for cost performance comparison with LCORE.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.256-266
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• 2023

Hydrogen production can be classified based on the energy source, primary reactor type, and whether or not it emits carbon dioxide. Utilizing color representation proves to be an effective means of expressing these distinctive characteristics. Among the various clean hydrogen production techniques, there has been a growing interest in turquoise hydrogen production, which involves the decomposition of methane or other fossil fuels. This method offers advantages in terms of large-scale production and cost reduction through the sale of solid-carbon byproduct. In this study, an extensive literature review was conducted to select and analyze several promising candidates for turquoise hydrogen production processes. The efficiency and economics of these processes were evaluated using stream data reported in the literature sources. The findings indicate that the levelized cost of hydrogen production (LCOH) is significantly influenced by the sales of byproducts, specifically the solid-carbon and carbon monoxide byproducts.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.607-625
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• 2021

The objective of this study is to estimate the relationship between CO₂ emissions and both nuclear power and renewable energy generation, and compare the cost efficiencies of nuclear power and renewable energy generation in reducing CO₂ emissions in Korea. The results show that nuclear power and renewable energy generation should be increased by 1.344% and 7.874% to reduce CO₂ emissions by 1%, respectively. Using the estimated coefficients and the levelized costs of electricity by source including the external costs, if the current amount of electricity generation is one megawatt-hour, the range of generation cost of nuclear power generation to reduce 1% CO₂ emissions is $0.72~$1.49 depending on the level of external costs. In the case of renewable energy generation, the generation cost to reduce 1% CO₂ emissions is $6.49. That is, to mitigate 1% of CO₂ emissions at the total electricity generation of 353 million MWh in 2020 in Korea, the total generation costs range for nuclear power is $254 million~$526 million for the nuclear power, and the cost for renewable energy is $2.289 billion for renewable energy. Hence, we can conclude that, in Korea, nuclear power generation is more cost-efficient than renewable energy generation in mitigating CO₂ emissions, even with the external costs of nuclear power generation.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.1777-1788
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• 2017

This paper presents the design and dynamic analysis of a stand-alone microgrid with high penetration of renewable energy. The optimal sizing of various components in the microgrid is obtained considering two objectives: minimization of levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and maximization of renewable energy penetration. Integrating high renewable energy in stand-alone microgrid requires special considerations to assure stable dynamic performance, we therefore develop voltage and frequency control method by coordinating Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) and diesel generators. This approach was applied to the design and development of Gasa Island microgrid in South Korea. The microgrid consists of photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, lithium-ion batteries and diesel generators. The dynamic performance of the microgrid during different load and weather variations is verified by simulation studies. Results from the real microgrid were then presented and discussed. Our approach to the design and control of microgrid will offer some lessons in future microgrid design.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.147-176
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• 2019

This paper uses research on the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) in South Korea to conduct a simulation analysis on the impact of nuclear power dependency and usage rates on the social costs of power generation. We compare the $7^{th}$ basic plan for long-term electricity supply and demand, which was designed to increase nuclear power generation, to the $8^{th}$ basic plan for long-term electricity supply and demand that decreased nuclear power generation and increased renewable energy generation in order to estimate changes in social costs and electricity rates according to the power generation mix. Our environmental generation mix simulation results indicate that social costs may increase by 22% within 10 years while direct generation cost and electricity rates based on generation and other production costs may increase by as much as 22% and 18%, respectively. Thus we confirm that the power generation mix from the $8^{th}$ basic plan for long-term electricity supply and demand compared to the $7^{th}$ plan increases social costs of generation, which include environmental external costs.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Systems Engineering
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.73-87
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• 2016

Combining power generation and water production by desalination is economically advantageous. Most desalination projects use fossil fuels as an energy source, and thus contribute to increased levels of greenhouse gases. Environmental concerns have spurred researchers to find new sources of energy for desalination plants. The coupling of nuclear power production with desalination is one of the best options to achieve growth with lower environmental impact. In this paper, we will per-form a sensitivity study of coupling nuclear power to various combinations of desalination technology: {1} thermal (MSF [Multi-Stage Flashing], MED [Multi-Effect Distillation], and MED-TVC [Multi-Effect Distillation with Thermal Vapour Compression]); {2} membrane RO [Reverse Osmosis]; and {3} hybrid (MSF-RO [Multi-Stage Flashing & Reverse Osmosis] and MED-RO [Multi-Effect Distillation & Reverse Osmosis]). The Korean designed reactor plant, the APR1400 will be modeled as the energy production facility. The economical evaluation will then be executed using the computer program DEEP (Desalination Economic Evaluation Program) as developed by the IAEA. The program has capabilities to model several types of nuclear and fossil power plants, nuclear and fossil heat sources, and thermal distillation and membrane desalination technologies. The output of DEEP includes levelized water and power costs, breakdowns of cost components, energy consumption, and net saleable power for any selected option. In this study, we will examine the APR1400 coupled with a desalination power plant in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) as a prototypical example. The KSA currently has approximately 20% of the installed worldwide capacity for seawater desalination. Utilities such as power and water are constructed and run by the government. Per state practice, economic evaluation for these utilities do not consider or apply interest or carrying cost. Therefore, in this paper the evaluation results will be based on two scenarios. The first one assumes the water utility is under direct government control and in this case the interest and discount rate will be set to zero. The second scenario will assume that the water utility is controlled by a private enterprise and in this case we will consider different values of interest and discount rates (4%, 8%, & 12%).