Annual simulation of photovoltaic retrofits within existing parabolic trough concentrating solar powerplants

Goel, Nipun; O'Hern, Hannah; Orosz, Matthew; Otanicar, Todd

doi:10.1016/j.solener.2020.09.081

Title: Annual simulation of photovoltaic retrofits within existing parabolic trough concentrating solar powerplants

Journal Article · 09 October 2020 · Solar Energy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2020.09.081 · OSTI ID:1848238

^[1]; O'Hern, Hannah ^[2]; Orosz, Matthew ^[2];

^[3]

Boise State Univ., ID (United States). Dept. of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering; Boise State Univ., ID (United States)
Univ. of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
Boise State Univ., ID (United States). Dept. of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering

Solar power for electricity production comes from either photovoltaics or concentrating solar power plants. The former has seen rapid growth and expansion due to the rapid fall in global prices, while the latter has seen moderate growth due to ability to cheaply store thermal energy for later use. Hybridization, or combining photovoltaics with concentrating solar power represents a potential way for lowering cost while enabling long term storage. Over 5 GW of capacity exist worldwide using parabolic trough style technology for concentrating solar power which presents a unique option for optimization in the form of a photovoltaic retrofit. While it is possible to analyze the performance with detailed physics models, it is necessary to create a model that can handle simulating the plant level performance to fully understand the potential performance. Here, the first utility scale plant level model of a hybrid photovoltaic-concentrating solar power plant is developed. The model is applied to existing concentrating solar power plants around the world utilizing RP-3 mirrors without thermal energy storage to understand the impact on electricity production. Model results indicate that the photovoltaic retrofit can increase yearly electricity production by up to 30% for plants with solar multiples exceeding 1.5, and that increasing the fraction of solar energy reflected further increases the yield. The increased electrical production declines as the plant solar multiple is decreased. The minimum LCOE observed was $0.07/kWh for plants with larger solar multiple and fraction of solar energy reflected to the PV is 50% of the total aperture.

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Research Organization:: Univ. of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)

Grant/Contract Number:: AR0000729

OSTI ID:: 1848238

Journal Information:: Solar Energy, Journal Name: Solar Energy Journal Issue: C Vol. 211; ISSN 0038-092X

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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14 SOLAR ENERGY
Concentrating solar power
Energy & Fuels
Photovoltaic
Retrofit
Simulation

Title: Annual simulation of photovoltaic retrofits within existing parabolic trough concentrating solar powerplants

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