Levelized Electricity Cost Reduction of a 1 Mwe Multi-Field Solar Thermal Power Plant
Abstract
A levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) reduction opportunity for a 1 MWe multi-field solar thermal power plant in Jodhpur, India, without thermal storage has been identified and proposed. To generate useful heat, a multi-field solar thermal power plant utilizes two distinct concentrating solar fields—a parabolic trough collector and a linear Fresnel reflector. Feedwater from the power block in a parabolic trough solar thermal power plant is preheated using the cost-intensive parabolic trough collectors. A linear Fresnel reflector has been included for partial feedwater preheating to improve electricity generation economics. The linear Fresnel reflector solar collector field utilizes a saturated vapour at 250 °C and 40 bar pressure to preheat the incoming feedwater from 46.5 °C to 150 °C before entering the primary preheater. Techno-economic modelling and simulation were conducted using TRNSYS, and the levelized cost of electricity was reduced by 5% compared to the configuration without a feedwater heater.
Keywords
Linear fresnel reflector, Levelized cost of electricity, Multi-field, Parabolic trough collector