Levelized cost of energy of hybrid concentrating photovoltaic-thermal systems based on nanofluid spectral filtering

The field of concentrating photovoltaic-thermal (CPV-T) systems based on nanofluid spectral filtering has advanced significantly in the past decade. However, there is still a need to perform economic feasibility analyses for these systems. In this work, an assessment of the cost of implementation of CPV-T power plants using the spectral-splitting technique was performed. Three types of solar power plant were analyzed, including a purely thermal parabolic trough, a hybrid Si-based, and a hybrid GaAs-based power plant. The levelized cost of energy (LCOE) algorithm included inputs obtained from random variables to obtain LCOE values and energy generation for each type of power plant as a probability distribution. The results show that a purely thermal parabolic trough system has a minimum LCOE of 13.29 0/kWh at a solar multiple of 1.75, while the hybrid Si and hybrid GaAs power plants had a minimum LCOE of 17.83 0/kWh at a solar multiple of 2.5, and 14.50 0/kWh at a solar multiple of 3. The results in this work demonstrate that spectral-splitting CPV-T power plants can achieve energy costs comparable to conventional parabolic power plants depending on the solar multiple, solar cell material, and technical and financial variables.

Automated summary

The study assessed the cost of implementation of CPV-T power plants using the spectral-splitting technique, finding that a purely thermal parabolic trough system had the lowest LCOE at a solar multiple of 1.75, while the hybrid Si and hybrid GaAs power plants had different LCOE at solar multiples of 2.5 and 3. The results demonstrate that spectral-splitting CPV-T power plants can achieve energy costs comparable to conventional parabolic power plants depending on the solar multiple, solar cell material, and technical and financial variables.