Techno-Economic Assessment of Heat Transfer Fluid Buffering for Thermal Energy Storage in the Solar Field of Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal Power Plants

Currently, operating parabolic trough (PT) solar thermal power plants, either solar-only or with thermal storage block, use the solar field as a heat transfer fluid (HTF) thermal storage system to provide extra thermal capacity when it is needed. This is done by circulating heat transfer fluid into...

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Main Authors: Jorge M. Llamas, David Bullejos, Manuel Ruiz de Adana
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2017-08-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/8/1123
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author Jorge M. Llamas
David Bullejos
Manuel Ruiz de Adana
author_facet Jorge M. Llamas
David Bullejos
Manuel Ruiz de Adana
author_sort Jorge M. Llamas
collection DOAJ
description Currently, operating parabolic trough (PT) solar thermal power plants, either solar-only or with thermal storage block, use the solar field as a heat transfer fluid (HTF) thermal storage system to provide extra thermal capacity when it is needed. This is done by circulating heat transfer fluid into the solar field piping in order to create a heat fluid buffer. In the same way, by oversizing the solar field, it can work as an alternative thermal energy storage (TES) system to the traditionally applied methods. This paper presents a solar field TES model for a standard solar field from a 50-MWe solar power plant. An oversized solar model is analyzed to increase the capacity storage system (HTF buffering). A mathematical model has been developed and different simulations have been carried out over a cycle of one year with six different solar multiples considered to represent the different oversized solar field configurations. Annual electricity generation and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) are calculated to find the solar multiple (SM) which makes the highest solar field thermal storage capacity possible within the minimum LCOE.
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spelling doaj.art-0655b2c7de2648529eabbfc991372a3c2022-12-22T04:00:18ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732017-08-01108112310.3390/en10081123en10081123Techno-Economic Assessment of Heat Transfer Fluid Buffering for Thermal Energy Storage in the Solar Field of Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal Power PlantsJorge M. Llamas0David Bullejos1Manuel Ruiz de Adana2Department of Electrical Engineering, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Córdoba (EPSC), Universidad de Córdoba, Ctra. Madrid-Cádiz Km. 396, 14071 Cordoba, SpainDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Córdoba (EPSC), Universidad de Córdoba, Ctra. Madrid-Cádiz Km. 396, 14071 Cordoba, SpainDepartment of Thermal Engines, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Córdoba (EPSC), Universidad de Córdoba, Ctra. Madrid-Cádiz Km. 396, 14071 Cordoba, SpainCurrently, operating parabolic trough (PT) solar thermal power plants, either solar-only or with thermal storage block, use the solar field as a heat transfer fluid (HTF) thermal storage system to provide extra thermal capacity when it is needed. This is done by circulating heat transfer fluid into the solar field piping in order to create a heat fluid buffer. In the same way, by oversizing the solar field, it can work as an alternative thermal energy storage (TES) system to the traditionally applied methods. This paper presents a solar field TES model for a standard solar field from a 50-MWe solar power plant. An oversized solar model is analyzed to increase the capacity storage system (HTF buffering). A mathematical model has been developed and different simulations have been carried out over a cycle of one year with six different solar multiples considered to represent the different oversized solar field configurations. Annual electricity generation and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) are calculated to find the solar multiple (SM) which makes the highest solar field thermal storage capacity possible within the minimum LCOE.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/8/1123solar thermalparabolic trough (PT)thermal storageheat transfer fluid (HTF) buffering
spellingShingle Jorge M. Llamas
David Bullejos
Manuel Ruiz de Adana
Techno-Economic Assessment of Heat Transfer Fluid Buffering for Thermal Energy Storage in the Solar Field of Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal Power Plants
Energies
solar thermal
parabolic trough (PT)
thermal storage
heat transfer fluid (HTF) buffering
title Techno-Economic Assessment of Heat Transfer Fluid Buffering for Thermal Energy Storage in the Solar Field of Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal Power Plants
title_full Techno-Economic Assessment of Heat Transfer Fluid Buffering for Thermal Energy Storage in the Solar Field of Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal Power Plants
title_fullStr Techno-Economic Assessment of Heat Transfer Fluid Buffering for Thermal Energy Storage in the Solar Field of Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal Power Plants
title_full_unstemmed Techno-Economic Assessment of Heat Transfer Fluid Buffering for Thermal Energy Storage in the Solar Field of Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal Power Plants
title_short Techno-Economic Assessment of Heat Transfer Fluid Buffering for Thermal Energy Storage in the Solar Field of Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal Power Plants
title_sort techno economic assessment of heat transfer fluid buffering for thermal energy storage in the solar field of parabolic trough solar thermal power plants
topic solar thermal
parabolic trough (PT)
thermal storage
heat transfer fluid (HTF) buffering
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/8/1123
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