The economic efficiency of harnessing wind energy in the autonomous power systems of Russia is analyzed. Wind turbines are shown to be competitive for many considered variants (groups of consumers, placement areas, and climatic and meteorological conditions). The authors study the possibility of storing energy in the form of hydrogen in the autonomous wind/diesel/hydrogen power systems that include wind turbines, diesel generator, electrolyzer, hydrogen tank, and fuel cells. The paper presents the zones of economic efficiency of the system (set of parameters that provide its competitiveness) depending on load, fuel price, and long-term average annual wind speed. At low wind speed and low price of fuel, it is reasonable to use only diesel generator to supply power to consumers. When the fuel price and wind speed increase, first it becomes more economical to use a wind-diesel system and then wind turbines with a hydrogen system. In the latter case, according to the optimization results, diesel generator is excluded from the system. 1. Introduction In the recent years, the energy policy of many countries has been aimed at increasing the share of renewable energy sources (RES) in the total energy production. In Russia, the share of RES (without large hydropower plants) in the electricity production does not exceed 1%. However, the “Energy Strategy of Russia for the period up to 2030” (approved by the Russian Government) suggests that, in 20 years, this share may increase up to 4.5%. Providing a substantial environmental effect (decrease in the emissions from energy sector), RES can often be economically efficient and competitive with the energy sources based on fossil fuel [1–7]. It is expected that, in the nearest and, moreover, distant future, the role of RES in Russian and world energy industry will essentially increase due to the improvement of characteristics and a projected rise in the fossil fuel price [8–12]. It is reasonable to use RES primarily in small autonomous (decentralized) power systems located in remote hard-to-reach areas, where the price of imported fossil fuel is very high. Russian zones of decentralized power supply that do not have any modern electrical networks and large energy sources occupy about 70% of the country and are situated mostly in the Far North. The Far North is represented by a number of regions in the European part of the country (Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions, the Republic of Karelia, and the Republic of Komi), Siberia (the north of Tyumen Region and Krasnoyarsk Territory), and the Far East (Yakutia, Chukotka,
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