Performance of molten salt solar power towers in Chile

Cáceres, Gustavo; Anrique, N; Girard, Aymeric; Degrève, Jan; Baeyens, Jan; Zhang, Huili

doi:10.1063/1.4826883

Cited by 29 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Previous research has assessed the potential for PTC and CRS in Chile (Cáceres et al, 2013;Corral et al, 2012;Larraín and Escobar, 2012), focusing on sustainability and economic issues without presenting a comparison between the available technologies. In addition, for the Brazilian territory there are scenarios for utilizing solar technologies (Martins et al, 2012) and research analyzing the effects of integrating CSP plants to the current electricity grid (Malagueta et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Methodology for Simulation and Assessment of Concentrated Solar Power Plants

Starke

Lemos

Colle

et al. 2016

RETERM

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A thermal analysis of Concentrated Solar Power plants is conducted considering parabolic trough collectors (PTC), linear Fresnel collectors using direct steam generation scheme (LFC-DSG) and central receiver system using both molten nitrate salts (CRS-MNS) direct steam generation (CRS-DSG). The plant capacities were ranged from 50 to 800 MWth and the analysis focuses on the environmental conditions of selected locations in South America. Thus, the study considers a parametric analysis of the main design parameter for different plant scales, in terms of the thermal performance indicators as solar field aperture area, power block rating capacity and plant annual efficiencies. The annual production of the plants is calculated by using the Transient System Simulation program (TRNSYS), which considers a new component library developed for that purpose. This library is based in the open access models developed by the U.S National Renewable Energy Laboratory and currently employed by the System Advisor Model (SAM) program. In addition, a new fluid properties subroutine compatible with TRNSYS codes standards was developed, which uses the freeware CoolProp library. These approaches allowed to modify and create new configurations for CSP plants, e.g. thermal storage for the DSG scheme.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Methodology for Simulation and Assessment of Concentrated Solar Power Plants

Starke

Lemos

Colle

et al. 2016

RETERM

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“…It is interesting to note that the LCOE values could be even more promising in regions with higher solar radiation as in Chile [45]. For example, in the case of Gemasolar, one of the authors [35] had estimated an increase of 22.7% in energy generation (from 110 GWh to 135 GWh per year) if the plant is placed in the north of Chile. …”

Section: Cost Comparison: Solar Salt Vs Lithium Mixturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…More technical details are presented in Table 2. C) 393 [32] 565 [32,35] Based on this data, total investment costs for both plants and assumptions on other relevant costs it is possible to build the cost items presented in Table 3 for each plant. It is important to note that these results are based on the prices presented in Table 1 and the amount of HSM from Table 2.…”

Section: Description Of Selected Plantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Techno-Economic Forecasts of Lithium Nitrates for Thermal Storage Systems

et al. 2017

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Thermal energy storage systems (TES) are a key component of concentrated solar power (CSP) plants that generally use a NaNO 3 /KNO 3 mixture also known as solar salt as a thermal storage material. Improvements in TES materials are important to lower CSP costs, increase energy efficiency and competitiveness with other technologies. A novel alternative examined in this paper is the use of salt mixtures with lithium nitrate that help to reduce the salt's melting point and improve thermal capacity. This in turn allows the volume of materials required to be reduced. Based on data for commercial plants and the expected evolution of the lithium market, the technical and economic prospects for this alternative are evaluated considering recent developments of Lithium Nitrates and the uncertain future prices of lithium. Through a levelized cost of energy (LCOE) analysis it is concluded that some of the mixtures could allow a reduction in the costs of CSP plants, improving their competitiveness.

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“…It has two tanks of 14 m height and 38 m diameter [55]. Gemasolar is a 19.9 MWe solar power tower and it is the first commercial plant in the world [56][57][58][59]. Annually, it generates 110 GWhe with a sensible heat direct TES system of 7900 tons of solar salts, which provides 15 h of storage.…”

Section: The Csp Plants Considered: Concept and Investment Costsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of Thermal Materials for CSP Plants and LCOE Evaluation for Performance Improvement using Chilean Strategic Minerals: Lithium Salts and Copper Foams

et al. 2016

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Abstract:The improvement of solar thermal technologies in emerging economies like Chile is particularly attractive because the country is endowed with one of the most consistently high solar potentials, lithium and copper reserves. In recent years, growing interests for lithium based salts and copper foams in application of thermal technologies could change the landscape of Chile transforming its lithium reserves and copper availability into competitive energy produced in the region. This study reviews the technical advantages of using lithium based salts-applied as heat storage media and heat transfer fluid-and copper foam/Phase Change Materials (PCM) alternatives-applied as heat storage media-within tower and parabolic trough Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants, and presents a first systematic evaluation of the costs of these alternatives based on real plant data. The methodology applied is based on material data base compilation of price and technical properties, selection of CSP plant and estimation of amount of required material, and analysis of Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE). Results confirm that some lithium based salts are effective in reducing the amount of required material and costs for the Thermal Energy Storage (TES) systems for both plant cases, with savings of up to 68% and 4.14% in tons of salts and LCOE, respectively. Copper foam/PCM composites significantly increase thermal conductivity, decreasing the volume of the TES system, but costs of implementation are still higher than traditional options.

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Performance of molten salt solar power towers in Chile

Cited by 29 publications

References 10 publications

A Methodology for Simulation and Assessment of Concentrated Solar Power Plants

A Methodology for Simulation and Assessment of Concentrated Solar Power Plants

Techno-Economic Forecasts of Lithium Nitrates for Thermal Storage Systems

Review of Thermal Materials for CSP Plants and LCOE Evaluation for Performance Improvement using Chilean Strategic Minerals: Lithium Salts and Copper Foams

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