Atmospheric extinction in solar tower plants – A review

Hanrieder, Natalie; Wilbert, Stefan; Mancera-Guevara, D.; Buck, Reiner; Giuliano, Stefano; Pitz‐Paal, Robert

doi:10.1016/j.solener.2017.01.013

Cited by 40 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The authors, based on their analysis, recommended the installation of central receiver plants in Chinese locations as it is possible to achieve annual overall efficiency of 14%. The common model equations used for approximating atmospheric extinction used in ray tracing tools were summarized and compared in [13]. In [14], the authors evaluated the influence of operating strategy on the system design of CSP plants.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance Analysis and Optimization of Central Receiver Solar Thermal Power Plants for Utility Scale Power Generation

Praveen

2019

Sustainability

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The paper puts forth the design, performance analysis, and optimization of a 100 MWe central receiver solar thermal power plant with thermal energy storage capability, which can be utilized effectively to meet the renewable energy targets of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). In this paper, three representative sites in KSA are selected for analysis as these sites experience an annual average direct normal irradiance (DNI) of more than 5.5 kWh/m 2 /day. The optimization approach presented in this work aims to arrive at the best possible design parameters that suit a particular location in accordance with its DNI profile. From the analysis, an annual energy of 559.61 GWh can be generated in Yanbu with eight hours of thermal energy storage, 18.19% plant efficiency, and a capacity factor of 61.1%. The central receiver plant in Abha would be able to offer an annual energy of 536.31 GWh with the highest plant efficiency of 18.97% and a capacity factor of 60.7%. The performance of the proposed design in the two locations of Yanbu and Abha fares better when compared to the operational plant data of central receiver plant in Crescent Dunes. Based on the findings, the proposed 100 MWe central receiver Solar thermal power plants can be effectively implemented in KSA to meet the energy demands of the region.Sustainability 2020, 12, 127 2 of 16 production. According to the Vision 2030 plan, KSA has announced plans to generate 9.5 GW of electricity from renewable sources by 2030, and the government aims to invest more than 109 billion USD in the solar energy sector. In continuance with the Vision 2030 plan, and to meet the energy challenges of tomorrow, King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (K.A.CARE) has set its target to install 54 GW of power from RE sources by 2032. Interestingly, the major share (25 GW) of this target is expected to come from concentrated solar power (CSP), and the rest, 16 GW, from photovoltaic (PV) systems that directly convert solar energy to electrical energy. Presently, the total installed solar energy capacity of Saudi Arabia is only 139 MW, of which 89 MW is generated from PV technology and 50 MW from CSP systems [2]. The research work will support the policy makers in identifying the potential sites across the Kingdom for the installation of central receiver (also called solar tower or power tower) plants, which is a type of CSP plant wherein an array of dual-axis tracking reflectors (heliostats) concentrates sunlight on a tower-mounted receiver that contains heat transfer fluid (HTF). The HTF can be heated to 500-1000 • C, which can be then used as a heat source for power generation. Stand-alone renewable energy plants have challenges to deliver stable power to the grid. These plants require backup support in terms of electrical or thermal energy storage to supply firm power. The electrical storage requires large capital outlay and maintenance. Although the capital cost for PV systems is lower than that of CSP systems, the former accounts for a higher cost of power generation when t...

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance Analysis and Optimization of Central Receiver Solar Thermal Power Plants for Utility Scale Power Generation

Praveen

2019

Sustainability

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“…µm. It has to be noted that the EDM164 has a certain sampling efficiency which is not uniform for different particle sizes [4]. Especially larger particles are sampled only to a certain extent.…”

Section: Saltation Movementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, an increased presence of aeolian particles also leads to optical scattering and absorption processes in the air between the different optical components of solar power plants. This phenomenon is known as atmospheric extinction and is of special importance for central receiver concentrating solar power plants, where the spatial distance between the reflecting heliostats and the absorber can be up to several kilometers [4]. A third effect are windblown aerosol particles, which may cause possible mechanical damage when impacting on the optical components.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the erosion risk of sandstorms on solar energy technology at two sites in Morocco

Wiesinger¹,

Sutter²,

Wolfertstetter³

et al. 2018

Solar Energy

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“…It is still common to choose one of two cases representing clear or hazy conditions for yield calculations. Applying standard extinction conditions can lead to an under or overestimation of several percent of the expected annual plant yield dependent on the location and plant configuration ( [2]). As such errors have to be expected for most current projects, banks and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors usually include additional risk margins in their yield calculations which unnecessarily increase the price of solar tower plants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atmospheric Transmittance Model Validation for CSP Tower Plants

Hanrieder¹,

Ghennioui

Merrouni

et al. 2019

Remote Sensing

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In yield analysis and plant design of concentrated solar power (CSP) tower plants, increased uncertainties are caused by the mostly unknown solar attenuation between the concentrating heliostat field and the receiver on top of the tower. This attenuation is caused mainly by aerosol particles and water vapor. Various on-site measurement methods of atmospheric extinction in solar tower plants have been developed during recent years, but during resource assessment for distinct tower plant projects in-situ measurement data sets are typically not available. To overcome this lack of information, a transmittance model (TM) has been previously developed and enhanced by the authors to derive the atmospheric transmittance between a heliostat and receiver on the basis of common direct normal irradiance (DNI), temperature, relative humidity and barometric pressure measurements. Previously the model was only tested at one site. In this manuscript, the enhanced TM is validated for three sites (CIEMAT’s Plataforma Solar de Almería (PSA), Spain, Missour, Morocco (MIS) and Zagora, Morocco (ZAG)). As the strongest assumption in the TM is the vertical aerosol particle profile, three different approaches to describe the vertical profile are tested in the TM. One approach assumes a homogeneous aerosol profile up to 1 kilometer above ground, the second approach is based on LIVAS profiles obtained from Lidar measurements and the third approach uses boundary layer height (BLH) data of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The derived broadband transmittance for a slant range of 1 km ( T 1 k m ) time series is compared with a reference data set of on-site absorption- and broadband corrected T 1 k m derived from meteorological optical range (MOR) measurements for the temporal period between January 2015 and November 2017. The absolute mean bias error (MBE) for the TM’s T 1 k m using the three different aerosol profiles lies below 5% except for ZAG and one profile assumption. The MBE is close to 0 for PSA and MIS assuming a homogeneous extinction coefficient up to 1 km above ground. The root mean square error (RMSE) is around 5–6% for PSA and ZAG and around 7–8% for MIS. The TM performs better during summer months, during which more data points have been evaluated. This validation proves the applicability of the transmittance model for resource assessment at various sites. It enables the identification of a clear site with high T 1 k m with a high accuracy and provides an estimation of the T 1 k m for hazy sites. Thus it facilitates the decision if on-site extinction measurements are necessary. The model can be used to improve the accuracy of yield analysis of tower plants and allows the site adapted design.

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Atmospheric extinction in solar tower plants – A review

Cited by 40 publications

References 20 publications

Performance Analysis and Optimization of Central Receiver Solar Thermal Power Plants for Utility Scale Power Generation

Performance Analysis and Optimization of Central Receiver Solar Thermal Power Plants for Utility Scale Power Generation

Assessment of the erosion risk of sandstorms on solar energy technology at two sites in Morocco

Atmospheric Transmittance Model Validation for CSP Tower Plants

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