Off-design performance of molten salt-driven Rankine cycles and its impact on the optimal dispatch of concentrating solar power systems

Hamilton, William T.; Newman, Alexandra M.; Wagner, Michael J.; Braun, Robert J.

doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2020.113025

Off-design performance of molten salt-driven Rankine cycles and its impact on the optimal dispatch of concentrating solar power systems

Journal Article · Fri Jul 31 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Energy Conversion and Management

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2020.113025· OSTI ID:1665879

Hamilton, William T. ^[1]; Newman, Alexandra M. ^[1]; ^[2]; Braun, Robert J. ^[1]

Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

This paper presents a model for improving off-design performance predictions for molten salt-driven Rankine power cycles, such as in concentrating solar power tower applications. The model predicts cycle off-design performance under various boundary conditions, including molten salt inlet temperature, mass flow rate, and ambient temperature. The model is validated using industry performance data and benchmarked with results from the literature. A complete concentrating solar power plant, inclusive of solar heliostat field and receiver, is then considered, by implementing the Rankine cycle off-design performance results into the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s System Advisor Model software, which includes a tool that determines optimal power production schedules. The work improves upon the current System Advisor Model by updating off-design performance characteristics. A case study demonstrates the impact of cycle off-design behavior on annual performance for a stand-alone concentrating solar power system and a concentrating solar power-photovoltaic hybrid system. In addition, we demonstrate how cycle off-design performance influences optimal operator dispatch decisions and, thereby, overall system design and economics. We conclude that off-design cycle performance impacts “optimal” sub-system sizing, especially for a concentrating solar power-photovoltaic hybrid configuration in which concentrating solar power must dispatch in conjunction with photovoltaic generation.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1665879

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA--5500-77433; MainId:27369; UUID:0ab3fa0e-62fc-4809-82b7-bd604100707d; MainAdminID:18562

Journal Information:: Energy Conversion and Management, Journal Name: Energy Conversion and Management Vol. 220; ISSN 0196-8904

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (16)

Dispatch optimization of concentrating solar power with utility-scale photovoltaics Hamilton, William T.; Husted, Mark A.; Newman, Alexandra M. Optimization and Engineering, Vol. 21, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11081-019-09449-y	journal	September 2019
Optimized dispatch in a first-principles concentrating solar power production model Wagner, Michael J.; Newman, Alexandra M.; Hamilton, William T. Applied Energy, Vol. 203 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.06.072	journal	October 2017
Hybridizing a geothermal power plant with concentrating solar power and thermal storage to increase power generation and dispatchability McTigue, Joshua D.; Castro, Jose; Mungas, Greg Applied Energy, Vol. 228 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.07.064	journal	October 2018
Impacts of equipment off-design characteristics on the optimal design and operation of combined cooling, heating and power systems Zhou, Zhe; Liu, Pei; Li, Zheng Computers & Chemical Engineering, Vol. 48 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compchemeng.2012.08.007	journal	January 2013
Thermodynamic evaluation of combined cycle plants Woudstra, Nico; Woudstra, Theo; Pirone, Armando Energy Conversion and Management, Vol. 51, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2009.12.016	journal	May 2010
Solar multiple optimization of a DSG linear Fresnel power plant Marugán-Cruz, Carolina; Serrano, D.; Gómez-Hernández, J. Energy Conversion and Management, Vol. 184 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2019.01.054	journal	March 2019
A detailed MILP optimization model for combined cooling, heat and power system operation planning Bischi, Aldo; Taccari, Leonardo; Martelli, Emanuele Energy, Vol. 74 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2014.02.042	journal	September 2014
Operational optimization of an integrated solar combined cycle under practical time-dependent constraints Brodrick, Philip G.; Brandt, Adam R.; Durlofsky, Louis J. Energy, Vol. 141 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.11.059	journal	December 2017
SolarPILOT: A power tower solar field layout and characterization tool Wagner, Michael J.; Wendelin, Tim Solar Energy, Vol. 171 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2018.06.063	journal	September 2018
Optimizing dispatch for a concentrated solar power tower Wagner, Michael J.; Hamilton, William T.; Newman, Alexandra Solar Energy, Vol. 174 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2018.06.093	journal	November 2018
On the Optimization of the Daily Operation of a Wind-Hydro Power Plant Castronuovo, E. D.; Lopes, J. A. P. IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, Vol. 19, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1109/TPWRS.2004.831707	journal	August 2004
On Prediction of Off-Design Multistage Turbine Pressures by Stodola’s Ellipse Cooke, D. H. Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power, Vol. 107, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3239778	journal	July 1985
A Method for Predicting the Performance of Steam Turbine-Generators....: 16,500 kw and Larger Spencer, R. C.; Cotton, K. C.; Cannon, C. N. Journal of Engineering for Power, Vol. 85, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3677341	journal	October 1963
On Prediction of Off-Design Multistage Turbine Pressures by Stodola’s Ellipse Cooke, David H. 1984 Joint Power Generation Conference: GT Papers https://doi.org/10.1115/84-JPGC-GT-14	conference	March 2015
A manual for the economic evaluation of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies Short, W.; Packey, D. J.; Holt, T. https://doi.org/10.2172/35391	report	March 1995
Solar Power Tower Design Basis Document, Revision 0 Zavoico, Alexis B. https://doi.org/10.2172/786629	report	July 2001

Similar Records

Optimized dispatch in a first-principles concentrating solar power production model

Journal Article · Sun Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Applied Energy · OSTI ID:1375110

Black-Box Optimization for Design of Concentrating Solar Power and Photovoltaic Hybrid Systems with Optimal Dispatch Decisions

Conference · Thu Dec 10 23:00:00 EST 2020 · OSTI ID:1760674

Optimal Sizing and Dispatch of Solar Power with Storage

Journal Article · Thu Mar 30 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Optimization and Engineering · OSTI ID:1970183

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
CSP-PV hybrid systems
concentrating solar power (CSP)
dispatch optimization
off-design performance
solar
steam Rankine cycle
thermal energy storage (TES)

Off-design performance of molten salt-driven Rankine cycles and its impact on the optimal dispatch of concentrating solar power systems

Citation Formats

References (16)

Similar Records

Related Subjects