Solar thermal-photovoltaic powered potato cold storage - Conceptual design and performance analyses

Wastage of food crops due to the dearth of proper cold storage facilities is a huge problem in underdeveloped and developing countries of the world. Conceptual design of a potato cold storage is presented here, along with performance appraisal over a calendar year. The microclimate inside the cold storage is regulated using a water-lithium bromide absorption system. Proposed system utilizes both solar thermal and photovoltaic generated electrical energy for its operation. A suitable operation strategy is devised and the performance of the integrated system is analyzed from energy and exergy point of view to identify the required numbers of thermal collectors and photovoltaic modules. The proposed system is found to provide a net surplus of about 36 MW h energy over a calendar year, after meeting the in-house requirements. A rudimentary economic analysis is also performed to check the financial viability of the proposed system. Both the thermal and photovoltaic components are found to have payback periods less than four years.