Estimating the Capacity Value of Concentrating Solar Power Plants With Thermal Energy Storage: A Case Study of the Southwestern United States

Journal Article · Mon Aug 13 00:00:00 EDT 2012 · IEEE Transactions on Power Systems

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/TPWRS.2012.2207410· OSTI ID:1355776

Madaeni, Seyed Hossein ^[1]; Sioshansi, Ramteen ^[2]; Denholm, Paul ^[3]

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1. The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States). Integrated Systems Engineering Dept.; The Ohio State University
2. The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States). Integrated Systems Engineering Dept.
3. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

We estimate the capacity value of concentrating solar power (CSP) plants with thermal energy storage (TES) in the southwestern U.S. Our results show that incorporating TES in CSP plants significantly increases their capacity value. While CSP plants without TES have capacity values ranging between 60% and 86% of maximum capacity, plants with TES can have capacity values between 79% and 92%. Here, we demonstrate the effect of location and configuration on the operation and capacity value of CSP plants. Finally, we also show that using a capacity payment mechanism can increase the capacity value of CSP, since the capacity value of CSP is highly sensitive to operational decisions and energy prices are not a perfect indicator of scarcity of supply.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC36-08GO28308
• OSTI ID: 1355776
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1079082
• Journal Information: IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, Journal Name: IEEE Transactions on Power Systems Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 28; ISSN 0885-8950
• Publisher: IEEE
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
25 ENERGY STORAGE
Approximation methods
Capacity value
Concentrating solar power
Energy storage
Equivalent conventional power
Generators
Heating
Indexes
Power system reliability
Reliability