Design. Performance Analysis and Optimization of a 100 MW Concentrated Solar Power Plant with Thermal Energy Storage

The energy demand of the middle east region is on the rise with an urgent need to tap the abundant renewable energy sources in the region. This is essential for the future development of the Middle-East region as it reduces the dependency on fossil fuels and eliminates the problems associated with air pollution and greenhouse gases. This paper presents the design, performance analysis and optimization of a 100 MWe parabolic trough based Concentrated Solar Power Plant with thermal energy storage for a location in Abudhabi which falls in middle east region. The thermodynamic aspect and annual performance of the proposed plant design is also analyzed using the SAM software. The annual energy generated from the CSP plant is found to be 333.15GWh with a gross to net conversion factor of 81.1%. The mean efficiency of the plant is found to be 14.35%. The performance of the proposed CSP plant is further optimized by varying the solar multiple and full load hours of TES. The proposed parabolic trough based CSP plant with thermal energy storage is found to be feasible for the location in Abudhabi and encourages further development of solar thermal power plants in the region.