Integration of a Concentrating Solar Steam Topping Turbine to an Existing Geothermal Binary Power Plant (CRADA CRD-17-700 Final Report)
U.S. Geothermal Inc. is a publicly traded leading renewable energy company focused on the development, production, and sale of electricity from geothermal energy with operating generation facilities at Raft River, Idaho; San Emidio, Nevada; and Neal Hot Springs, Oregon. (U.S. Geothermal was acquired by Ormat Technologies, Inc. since the execution of this project). This project will evaluate the integration of a concentrating solar steam topping cycle with a geothermal bottoming binary cycle. This hybrid plant configuration will enable high efficiency conversion of the solar heat to electrical power, while simultaneously increasing the power output of the bottoming cycle. Such a design has the potential to reduce the cost of electrical power from concentrating solar power (CSP) and geothermal plants, and a viable design could be deployed at existing geothermal plants that have experienced resource productivity decline as well as in greenfield projects. This analysis will examine US Geothermal’s Raft River power plant for implementation of this concept. INL and NREL have previously collaborated in the analysis of geo-solar hybrid power plants. These two labs will again work together to model the solar field, steam-topping, and geothermal bottoming cycles in order to investigate the performance of the proposed cycle. This analysis will provide US Geothermal with technical information including equipment specifications and estimated power generation necessary to advance the concept toward implementation. A successful project outcome has two parts: One would be for US Geothermal to have a process flow diagram (heat and mass balance), and performance parameters for the major pieces of equipment. US Geothermal could then use this information evaluate the techno-economic feasibility of the hybrid power cycle, and serve as the basis for subsequent detailed equipment design, purchase, and installation of the cycle. The second would be for the developed solution to be published by DOE for use by other geothermal developers both to retrofit underperforming plants and to lower the LCOE of new developments.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Geothermal Technologies Office
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1659915
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/TP-5500-76726; MainId:9387; UUID:755d71c0-8cbe-406c-8c80-db8d1bc07503; MainAdminID:13631
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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