Economic Feasibility of Thermal Energy Storage-Integrated Concentrating Solar Power Plants
Concentrating solar power (CSP) is a high-potential renewable energy source that can leverage various thermal applications. CSP plant development has therefore become a global trend. However, the designing of a CSP plant for a given solar resource condition and financial situation is still a work in...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Solar |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9941/3/1/10 |
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| author | Darsha Jayathunga Jinendrika Anushi Weliwita Hirushie Karunathilake Sanjeeva Witharana |
| author_facet | Darsha Jayathunga Jinendrika Anushi Weliwita Hirushie Karunathilake Sanjeeva Witharana |
| author_sort | Darsha Jayathunga |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Concentrating solar power (CSP) is a high-potential renewable energy source that can leverage various thermal applications. CSP plant development has therefore become a global trend. However, the designing of a CSP plant for a given solar resource condition and financial situation is still a work in progress. This study aims to develop a mathematical model to analyze the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of Thermal Energy Storage (TES)-integrated CSP plants in such circumstances. The developed model presents an LCOE variation for 18 different CSP configurations with TES incorporated for Rankine, Brayton, and combined power generation cycles, under regular TES materials and nano-enhanced TES materials. The model then recommends the most economical CSP plant arrangement. Within the scope of this study, it was found that the best configuration for electricity generation is a solar power tower with nano-enhanced phase change materials as the latent heat thermal energy storage medium that runs on the combined cycle. This returns an LCOE of 7.63 ct/kWh with a 22.70% CSP plant efficiency. The most favorable option in 50 MW plants is the combined cycle with a regular TES medium, which has an LCOE of 7.72 ct/kWh with a 22.14% CSP plant efficiency. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:54:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ed9188ea928041beb50b1bd901f09bb8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-9941 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:54:49Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Solar |
| spelling | doaj.art-ed9188ea928041beb50b1bd901f09bb82023-11-17T13:53:14ZengMDPI AGSolar2673-99412023-02-013113216010.3390/solar3010010Economic Feasibility of Thermal Energy Storage-Integrated Concentrating Solar Power PlantsDarsha Jayathunga0Jinendrika Anushi Weliwita1Hirushie Karunathilake2Sanjeeva Witharana3Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Moratuwa 10400, Sri LankaDivision of Engineering Technology, Higher Colleges of Technology, Fujairah Men’s College, Fujairah 00000, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Moratuwa 10400, Sri LankaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Moratuwa 10400, Sri LankaConcentrating solar power (CSP) is a high-potential renewable energy source that can leverage various thermal applications. CSP plant development has therefore become a global trend. However, the designing of a CSP plant for a given solar resource condition and financial situation is still a work in progress. This study aims to develop a mathematical model to analyze the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of Thermal Energy Storage (TES)-integrated CSP plants in such circumstances. The developed model presents an LCOE variation for 18 different CSP configurations with TES incorporated for Rankine, Brayton, and combined power generation cycles, under regular TES materials and nano-enhanced TES materials. The model then recommends the most economical CSP plant arrangement. Within the scope of this study, it was found that the best configuration for electricity generation is a solar power tower with nano-enhanced phase change materials as the latent heat thermal energy storage medium that runs on the combined cycle. This returns an LCOE of 7.63 ct/kWh with a 22.70% CSP plant efficiency. The most favorable option in 50 MW plants is the combined cycle with a regular TES medium, which has an LCOE of 7.72 ct/kWh with a 22.14% CSP plant efficiency.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9941/3/1/10concentrating solar powerthermal energy storageeconomic feasibilitylevelized cost of energymathematical modelling |
| spellingShingle | Darsha Jayathunga Jinendrika Anushi Weliwita Hirushie Karunathilake Sanjeeva Witharana Economic Feasibility of Thermal Energy Storage-Integrated Concentrating Solar Power Plants Solar concentrating solar power thermal energy storage economic feasibility levelized cost of energy mathematical modelling |
| title | Economic Feasibility of Thermal Energy Storage-Integrated Concentrating Solar Power Plants |
| title_full | Economic Feasibility of Thermal Energy Storage-Integrated Concentrating Solar Power Plants |
| title_fullStr | Economic Feasibility of Thermal Energy Storage-Integrated Concentrating Solar Power Plants |
| title_full_unstemmed | Economic Feasibility of Thermal Energy Storage-Integrated Concentrating Solar Power Plants |
| title_short | Economic Feasibility of Thermal Energy Storage-Integrated Concentrating Solar Power Plants |
| title_sort | economic feasibility of thermal energy storage integrated concentrating solar power plants |
| topic | concentrating solar power thermal energy storage economic feasibility levelized cost of energy mathematical modelling |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9941/3/1/10 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT darshajayathunga economicfeasibilityofthermalenergystorageintegratedconcentratingsolarpowerplants AT jinendrikaanushiweliwita economicfeasibilityofthermalenergystorageintegratedconcentratingsolarpowerplants AT hirushiekarunathilake economicfeasibilityofthermalenergystorageintegratedconcentratingsolarpowerplants AT sanjeevawitharana economicfeasibilityofthermalenergystorageintegratedconcentratingsolarpowerplants |