Multi‑Criteria Optimization and Techno‑Economic Assessment of a Wind–Solar–Hydrogen Hybrid System for a Plateau Tourist City Using HOMER and Shannon Entropy‑EDAS Models

Hydrogen offers an effective pathway for the large‑scale storage of renewable energy. For a tourist city located in a plateau region rich in renewable energy, hydrogen shows great potential for reducing carbon emissions and utilizing uncertain renewable energy. Herein, the wind–solar–hydrogen stand‑alone and grid‑connected systems in the plateau tourist city of Lijiang City in Yunnan Province are modeled and techno‑economically evaluated by using the HOMER Pro software (version 3.14.2) with the multi‑criteria decision anal‑ ysis models. The system is composed of 5588 kW solar photovoltaic panels, an 800 kW wind turbine, a 1600 kW electrolyzer, a 421 kWh battery, and a 50 kW fuel cell. In addi‑ tion to meeting the power requirements for system operation, the system has the capacity to provide daily electricity for 200 households in a neighborhood and supply 240 kg of hydrogen per day to local hydrogen‑fueled buses. The stand‑alone system can produce 10.15 × 106 kWh of electricity and 93.44 t of hydrogen per year, with an NPC of USD 8.15 million, an LCOE of USD 0.43/kWh, and an LCOH of USD 5.26/kg. The grid‑connected system can generate 10.10 × 106 kWh of electricity and 103.01 ton of hydrogen annually. Its NPC is USD 7.34 million, its LCOE is USD 0.11/kWh, and its LCOH is USD 3.42/kg. This study provides a new solution for optimizing the configuration of hybrid renewable en‑ ergy systems, which will develop the hydrogen economy and create low‑carbon‑emission energy systems.