B20 - Siting Considerations with GIS for Hydrogen Projects

For decades, GIS has been an essential technology for renewable energy project developers. By combining important datasets like property boundaries, electric infrastructure, meteorological conditions, and environmental factors like wetlands, flood hazard zones, and topography, ideal locations for development quickly become apparent. However, what makes an ideal site for development can vary based on the desired system size and more importantly, the renewable energy technology being used. While GIS professionals have been siting wind and solar projects for many years, the energy industry’s new focus on hydrogen development has created a new and evolving set of criteria for site selection.

DNV explores a three-step approach to siting new hydrogen projects:

(1) Determine the objectives of the project. Will this be a new development pairing wind and/or solar with a new hydrogen facility? Is the developer hoping to produce hydrogen to serve nearby customers already in operation? Or does a developer want to eliminate curtailment at existing wind and solar farms with hydrogen production?

(2) Determine regional suitability for hydrogen projects. Where are locations with existing potential large customers for hydrogen/hydrogen products? Are there existing renewable energy projects developed in the proximity for green hydrogen production? Are existing pipeline networks in place that can be leveraged? Where is water scarcity not a concern? GIS can answer these questions and guide developers to appropriate locations.

(3) Select Properties to Pursue for Development. Does a property have access to substations and transmission lines? Does the site have access to water? Does the property have a enough land outside of flood zones and wetlands, flat enough for development, and not in a protected area? DNV answers questions like these and many more to provide rankings of sites based on our multi-criteria analysis.