Title: Retrofitting solar power plants with thermal energy storage

Authors: Mohammad Abutayeh; Kwangkook Jeong

Addresses: Mechanical Engineering Department, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR 72401, USA ' Mechanical Engineering Department, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR 72401, USA

Abstract: A thermal energy storage system module has been retrofitted into a validated system-level model of an existing concentrating solar power plant to evaluate the outcome of incorporating energy storage into its operation. The number of solar field loops had to be doubled to provide the proposed thermal energy storage system with heat leftover after delivering the heat demand of the power block. Most power block equipment were unaffected by the energy storage augmentation; however, the capacity of the heat transfer fluid pump was amplified to meet the increased circulation demand in the solar field. As a result of this thermal energy storage augmentation, electric power generation was increased and made more streamlined while idle time was reduced. Formulas to size thermal energy storage systems and solar fields are introduced. Sample results from the validated concentrating solar power plant model operating with and without the proposed thermal energy storage augmentation are presented.

Keywords: concentrating solar power; thermal energy storage.

DOI: 10.1504/IJRET.2020.108308

International Journal of Renewable Energy Technology, 2020 Vol.11 No.2, pp.165 - 185

Received: 17 May 2019
Accepted: 15 Aug 2019
Published online: 08 Jul 2020 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article