Tårs 10000 m2 CSP + Flat Plate Solar Collector Plant - Cost-Performance Optimization of the Design

A novel solar heating plant with Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) collectors and Flat Plate (FP) collectors has been put into operation in Tårs since July 2015. To investigate economic performance of the plant, a TRNSYS-Genopt model, including a solar collector field and thermal storage tank, was established. The optimization showed that there was a synergy in combining CSP and FP collectors. Even though the present cost per m2 of the CSP collectors is high, the total energy cost is minimized by installing a combination of collectors in such solar heating plant. It was also found that the CSP collectors could raise flexibility in the control strategy of the plant. The TRNSYS-Genopt model is based on individually validated component models and collector parameters from experiments. Optimization of the cost performance of the plant has been conducted in this paper. The simulation model remains to be validated with annual measured data from the plant.