Techno-Economic Optimization of CSP Plants with Free-Falling Particle Receivers.

Area of Science:

• Renewable Energy Engineering
• Thermodynamics
• Techno-economic Analysis

Background:

• Next-generation Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants aim to reduce the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) to $0.05/kWh.
• Falling particle receivers are a key technology for achieving these cost reduction goals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To perform a techno-economic analysis of a CSP system with a free-falling particle receiver.
• To determine if this system configuration can meet the target LCOE of $0.05/kWh.
• To optimize the system's main components for minimum LCOE.

Main Methods:

• Development of an upgraded system model with enhanced fidelity, accuracy, and representativeness.
• Inclusion of off-design conditions in annual simulations for all components.
• Validation of an improved receiver model against Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations.
• Optimization of heliostat field size, tower height, particle curtain area, and thermal energy storage duration.

Main Results:

• The optimized CSP system configuration achieves an LCOE of $0.056/kWh.
• Optimal configuration includes 1.61 × 10^6 m^2 heliostats, a 250 m tower, a 537 m^2 falling particle curtain, and 16 hours of thermal energy storage.

Conclusions:

• Falling particle receiver CSP systems demonstrate significant potential for cost-effective electricity generation.
• The techno-economic analysis confirms the viability of achieving near-target LCOE with optimized system design and advanced components.