A Thermo-Economic Study of Storage Integration in Hybrid Solar Gas-Turbine Power Plants

A thermo-economic simulation model of a hybrid solar gas-turbine (HSGT) power plant with an integrated storage unit has been developed, allowing determination of the thermodynamic and economic performance. Designs were based around two representative industrial gas-turbines: a high efficiency machine and a low temperature machine. In order to examine the trade-offs that must be made, multi-objective thermo-economic analysis was performed, with two conflicting objectives: minimum investment costs and minimum specific carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. It was shown that with the integration of storage, annual solar shares above 85% can be achieved by HSGT systems. The levelized electricity cost (LEC) for the gas-turbine system as this level of solar integration was similar to that of parabolic trough plants, allowing them to compete directly in the solar power market. At the same time, the water consumption of the gas-turbine system is significantly lower than contemporary steam-cycle based solar thermal power plants.

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