Thermal power systems research and development project. Advanced technology department semi-annual progress report, October 1977-March 1978

Technical Report · Thu Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1978

OSTI ID:5964050

The task undertaken by NASA/JPL for the Advanced Thermal Technology Branch is to develop advanced technology to improve life cycle costs of solar thermal electric power plants. As a result of the planning and special studies activities, a point-focusing concentrator, Stirling engine/alternator solar thermal electricity power plant concept was identified as the most likely cost-effective candidate system to be developed for future dispersed solar power applications. The dish-Stirling advanced technology development task was initiated in October 1977 with the goal of demonstrating the feasibility of the concept through a single prototype module test program within 5 years. Greater than 25 percent efficiency in generating electricity with a module direct cost of less than $700 (1975 dollars) per peak kilowatt of electricity (kWe) at the generator is the 1983 objective. A somewhat longer-term goal is to reduce the module cost to less than $500 per peak kilowatt of electricity at the generator. In addition, goals for efficiency and cost for electrical energy transport and storage within a projected 10 MWe rated power plant were set as 94 percent and $63/kWe for transport and 87 percent and $37/kWe-hr for storage and inversion. Other goals for subsystems are 70 percent efficiency for the collector (concentrator and receiver) with a total cost of the collector less than $100 per squeare meter of concentrator aperture. Status of the design studies on solar concentrators, solar receivers, thermal-to-electric energy conversion, energy transport and storage, and power processing is reported. (WHK)

• Research Organization: Jet Propulsion Lab., Pasadena, CA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: EX-76-A-29-1060-003
• OSTI ID: 5964050
• Report Number(s): DOE/JPL/1060-3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
DISTRIBUTED COLLECTOR POWER PLANTS
DESIGN
STIRLING ENGINES
CONTROL SYSTEMS
ENERGY STORAGE
HEAT PIPES
HEAT TRANSFER
HEAT TRANSFER FLUIDS
LATENT HEAT STORAGE
LIFE-CYCLE COST
LIQUID METALS
MATERIALS
PARABOLIC DISH COLLECTORS
SENSIBLE HEAT STORAGE
SOLAR RECEIVERS
SOLAR TRACKING
STIRLING CYCLE
THERMOCHEMICAL HEAT STORAGE
CONCENTRATING COLLECTORS
COST
ELEMENTS
ENERGY TRANSFER
ENGINES
FLUIDS
HEAT ENGINES
HEAT STORAGE
LIQUIDS
METALS
PARABOLIC COLLECTORS
POWER PLANTS
SOLAR COLLECTORS
SOLAR POWER PLANTS
SOLAR THERMAL POWER PLANTS
STORAGE
THERMODYNAMIC CYCLES
140703* - Solar Thermal Power Systems- Distributed Collector
142000 - Solar Energy- Heat Storage- (1980-)