Generation, the source.
Wind and solar converted to renewable power and hydrogen, with the desalination that feeds electrolysis. Sized backward from product demand on measured capacity factors, not nameplate.
The first link, where electrons begin.
This node turns a measured renewable resource into the two things the rest of the chain consumes: electricity and hydrogen. Wind and solar are sized backward from the downstream product target through stoichiometry, so the generation fleet is built to feed the electrolyser, not to a round nameplate number. The node also carries the water infrastructure, seawater intake and desalination, because hydrogen production cannot happen without ultra-pure water, and water is the constraint most projects understate.
The discipline here is measured data. The 47 percent wind capacity factor is from the measured Alizé trade-wind regime at the site, and the 28 percent solar figure uses fixed-tilt PVOUT methodology rather than the tracker or irradiance numbers that systematically overstate output. A generation developer taking this node alone is taking the resource assessment and the sizing logic, the part that determines whether everything downstream is real.
What drives the node.
| Parameter | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Wind capacity factor | 47 % | Measured, Alizé trade-wind regime M |
| Solar capacity factor | 28 % | Global Solar Atlas PVOUT, fixed-tilt M |
| Wind installed | 1,623 MW | Sized backward from H₂ demand D |
| Solar installed | 1,467 MW | Sized backward from H₂ demand D |
| Electrolyser (PEM) | 1,030 MW | Stoichiometric to 126 kT/yr H₂ D |
| Battery buffer | 2,060 MWh | 2-hour buffer on electrolyser load D |
| Process water | 1,325 kT/yr | 10.5 kg/kg H₂, PEM practical P |
| Desalination duty | 179 m³/h | Net of methanol-synthesis recycle P |
What the node produces.
| CAPEX line | Basis | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Wind (1,623 MW) | $1.35M/MW | $2,191M |
| Solar (1,467 MW) | $0.90M/MW | $1,320M |
| Electrolysis (1,030 MW) | $1.00M/kW | $1,030M |
| Battery buffer (2,060 MWh) | $0.15M/MWh | $309M |
| Desalination (SWRO) | bottom-up | $47M |
| Generation node CAPEX | $4,897M |
Water is the hidden line.
Generation is usually discussed as megawatts. But the electrolyser that those megawatts feed cannot run without water, and at this scale the water duty is substantial: 1,325 kT/yr of process water, met by a desalination plant running at 179 m³/h after the methanol-synthesis recycle stream is credited back. Most screening models bury this inside a single CAPEX line.
The site's seawater cooling at 17-22°C is a direct CAPEX advantage on the electrolyser against Red Sea alternatives at 32-35°C, and the desalination is sized and costed explicitly rather than assumed. Surfacing water as its own line is what separates a bankable generation case from an optimistic one. A generation developer who ignores the water constraint is pricing a plant that cannot operate.
Where the numbers come from.
Wind CF (47%): measured data from the Alizé trade-wind regime at the site. Measured station data overrides reanalysis where the two conflict.
Solar CF (28%): Global Solar Atlas PVOUT, fixed-tilt methodology. Tracker and GHI figures were rejected as they systematically overstate output by 7-10 percentage points.
Water (10.5 kg/kg H₂): PEM practical water rate including purge, not the 9 kg stoichiometric minimum. Net demand credits the 60% recycle from methanol synthesis.
All figures trace to the Technical Balance model (Sim 1) and the Dakhla CAPEX build (Sim 3). Screening-stage, modelled, not quotes.
How this node stands alone.
The node's interface is a measured resource in, power and hydrogen out. It connects to whatever consumes those, and it does not depend on what the molecule eventually becomes.