Wind electricity‑hydrogen-natural gas coupling: An integrated optimization approach for enhancing wind energy accommodation and carbon reduction

Utilizing renewable energy for hydrogen production and blending it into natural gas networks is recognized as a promising approach to promote a low-carbon transformation of power systems and enhance the integration of renewable energy sources. However, the temporal and geographical availability of renewable energy and natural gas operation conditions vary greatly, emphasizing the importance of precise planning and operational strategies for the renewable energy‑hydrogen-natural gas coupling system. This article introduces a smart design and operational strategy for a wind electricity‑hydrogen-natural gas coupling system aimed at enhancing renewable energy accommodation. The primary objectives are to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of such coupling systems and to determine the optimal planning and operation strategies for hydrogen production, transportation, and blending into natural gas networks while minimizing total investment and operational costs. By utilizing real curtailed electricity data and natural gas pipeline network operating flow rate data, the potential of this coupling system to enhance renewable energy accommodation and reduce carbon emissions is explored. The results indicate that this optimized coupling system can accommodate 20.11% of curtailed wind electricity and reduce carbon emissions by 1.05 billion tons per year. Additionally, the impact of hydrogen blending ratios and hydrogen prices on the economic and environmental performance of the coupling system is also investigated. Improving the hydrogen blending ratio is the key to enlarging the economic and environmental performance of the coupling system, but the hydrogen sale price has a negligible impact on the renewable energy accommodation and environmental performance of the coupling system.