Thermoeconomic Analysis of Concentrated Solar Power Plants Based on Supercritical Power Cycles
Source abstract
Abstract
Solar thermal power plants are an alternative for the future energy context, allowing for a progressive decarbonisation of electricity production. One way to improve the performance of such plants is the use of supercritical CO2 power cycles. This article focuses on a solar thermal plant with a central solar receiver coupled to a partial cooling cycle, and it conducts a comparative study from both a thermal and economic perspective with the aim of optimising the configuration of the receiver. The design of the solar receiver is based on a radial configuration, with absorber panels converging on the tower axis; the absorber panels are compact structures through which a pressurised gas circulates. The different configurations analysed keep a constant thermal power provided by the receiver while varying the number of panels and their dimensions. The results demonstrate the existence of an optimal configuration that maximises the exergy efficiency of the solar subsystem, taking into account both the receiver exergy efficiency and the heliostat field optical efficiency. The evolution of electricity generation cost follows a similar trend to that of the exergy efficiency, exhibiting minimum values when this efficiency is at its maximum.
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Research context
OpenAlex topics: Solar Thermal and Photovoltaic Systems · Thermodynamic and Exergetic Analyses of Power and Cooling Systems · Thermal Radiation and Cooling Technologies
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
E.T.S. Ingenieros Industriales—Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), C/Juan del Rosal 12, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Department of Energy Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Brinellvägen 68, 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
Rafael Mariño Chair on New Energy Technologies, Comillas Pontifical University, Alberto Aguilera 25, 28015 Madrid, Spain
Funding
Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad
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