MODELING DISPATCHABILITY POTENTIAL OF CSP IN SOUTH AFRICA

We present a new method to quantify the dispatchability potential of CSP as part of a broader project to determine the value of CSP in the future South African energy mix. The method uses a fast solving plant model that includes all key parameters of a CSP plant including thermal inertia and thermal storage. A spatial grid of solar and weather is used as inputs and the result is hourly power potential on the same spatial grid. For 1 year of data, 28 million inputs are required and 9 million outputs generated with solve times of approximately 30 minutes per run. Results show that CSP plants with significant storage can deliver dispatchable power throughout the year regardless of weather when highly distributed. This new method will be enhanced with further refinement, features and validation in order to optimize CSP plant locations in a renewable system.