A Decentralized, Hybrid Photovoltaic-Solid Oxide Fuel Cell System for Application to a Commercial Building

New energy solutions are needed to decrease the currently high electricity costs from conventional electricity-only central power plants in Cyprus. A promising solution is a decentralized, hybrid photovoltaic-solid oxide fuel cell (PV-SOFC) system. In this study a decentralized, hybrid PV-SOFC system is investigated as a solution for useful energy supply to a commercial building (small hotel). An actual load profile and solar/weather data are fed to the system model to determine the thermoeconomic characteristics of the proposed system. The maximum power outputs for the PV and SOFC subsystems are 70 and 152 kWe, respectively. The average net electrical and total efficiencies for the SOFC subsystem are 0.303 and 0.700, respectively. Maximum net electrical and total efficiencies reach up to 0.375 and 0.756, respectively. The lifecycle cost for the system is 1.24 million USD, with a unit cost of electricity at 0.1057 USD/kWh. In comparison to the conventional case, the unit cost of electricity is about 50% lower, while the reduction in CO₂ emissions is about 36%. The proposed system is capable of power and heat generation at a lower cost, owing to the recent progress in both PV and fuel cell technologies, namely longer lifetime and lower specific cost.