Dynamic modeling and analysis of transient behavior of an integrated parabolic solar dish collector and thermochemical energy storage power plant

One of the effective solar energy collecting methods is the parabolic dish solar power plant. It should be noted that if the solar power plant is not equipped with an energy storage unit, its performance would not be compatible with other power generation systems. The thermochemical energy storage (TCES) systems are high energy density storage systems to provide stable energy with a constant temperature. In this case, the calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)(2)) is utilized as the TCES material, and a steam Rankine power cycle, which is coupled with the concentrating solar dish collector, is selected as the power production section. In this study, the transient simulation and modeling are performed over a year using TRNSYS and Matlab software based on four different climate data. Also, the influence of the steam turbine's inlet pressure is investigated on the system's performance. The sensitivity analysis of the turbine's inlet pressure shows that the output power production as well as the exergy destruction of the steam turbine decrease by increasing the turbine inlet pressure. Also, its increment leads to the enhancement of the solar fraction. Furthermore, the exergy investigation shows that the parabolic solar dish collector has the highest portion of the desired system's exergy destruction. The economic analysis reveals that Yazd, with an annual solar fraction of 94.5% among various cities, has the best economic results. Its LCOE and payback period are determined 0.114 $/kWh and 7 years, respectively.

Automated summary

This study investigates the use of TCES system with calcium hydroxide as the material and a steam Rankine power cycle for power production in a parabolic dish solar power plant. It shows that controlling the steam turbine's inlet pressure can improve the system's performance by reducing energy losses and increasing the solar fraction. Additionally, economic analysis reveals that Yazd has the best economic results with a shorter payback period and lower LCOE compared to other cities.