A study of the effect of design parameters on the performance of linear solar concentrator based thermal power plants in India

The sizing of a solar thermal power plant directly affects its cost and also the annual electricity output and hence its financial attractiveness. It involves deciding appropriate values of design DNI, solar multiple and hours of thermal storage to achieve high annual capacity utilization factor (CUF) with the least cost of electricity delivered. An analysis of the impact of these design parameters on the performance of parabolic trough concentrator (PTC) and linear Fresnel reflector (LFR) based solar thermal power plants is presented using System Advisor Model for eight locations in India. Annual electricity output is estimated using radiation data source of SEC-NREL. Levelized unit cost of electricity (LUCE) is estimated using benchmark capital cost and other financial conditions specified by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission of Government of India. For a design DNI of 950 W/m2, LUCE is minimum in solar multiple range of 1.4-1.6 for PTC based plants and of 1.8-2.0 for LFR based plants. With a solar multiple of 1.0, LUCE is minimum in design DNI range of 550-700 W/m2 for PTC based plants and 450-550 W/m2 for LFR based plants.