scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) Plant in Tower Configuration with and without Thermal Energy Storage (TES)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3672
Author(s):  
Gemma Gasa ◽  
Anton Lopez-Roman ◽  
Cristina Prieto ◽  
Luisa F. Cabeza
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Storage ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Molten Salts ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Concentrating Solar Power ◽  
The Impact

Despite the big deployment of concentrating solar power (CSP) plants, their environmental evaluation is still a pending issue. In this paper, a detailed life cycle assessment (LCA) of a CSP tower plant with molten salts storage in a baseload configuration is carried out and compared with a reference CSP plant without storage. Results show that the plant with storage has a lower environmental impact due to the lower operational impact. The dependence on grid electricity in a CSP tower plant without storage increases its operation stage impact. The impact of the manufacturing and disposal stage is similar in both plants. When analyzed in detail, the solar field system and the thermal energy storage (TES) and heat transfer fluid (HTF) systems are the ones with higher impact. Within the storage system, the molten salts are those with higher impact. Therefore, in this study the impact of the origin of the salts is evaluated, showing that when the salts come from mines their impact is lower than when they are synthetized. Results show that storage is a key element for CSP plants not only to ensure dispatchability but also to reduce their environmental impact.

scholarly journals LCOE Analysis of Tower Concentrating Solar Power Plants Using Different Molten-Salts for Thermal Energy Storage in China

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoru Zhuang ◽  
Xinhai Xu ◽  
Wenrui Liu ◽  
Wenfu Xu
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Molten Salts ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Concentrating Solar Power ◽  
Levelized Cost Of Electricity ◽  
Grid Parity

In recent years, the Chinese government has vigorously promoted the development of concentrating solar power (CSP) technology. For the commercialization of CSP technology, economically competitive costs of electricity generation is one of the major obstacles. However, studies of electricity generation cost analysis for CSP systems in China, particularly for the tower systems, are quite limited. This paper conducts an economic analysis by applying a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) model for 100 MW tower CSP plants in five locations in China with four different molten-salts for thermal energy storage (TES). The results show that it is inappropriate to build a tower CSP plant nearby Shenzhen and Shanghai. The solar salt (NaNO3-KNO3, 60-40 wt.%) has lower LCOE than the other three new molten-salts. In order to calculate the time when the grid parity would be reached, four scenarios for CSP development roadmap proposed by International Energy Agency (IEA) were considered in this study. It was found that the LCOE of tower CSP would reach the grid parity in the years of 2038–2041 in the case of no future penalties for the CO2 emissions. This study can provide support information for the Chinese government to formulate incentive policies for the CSP industry.

Life Cycle Assessment of a Model Parabolic Trough Concentrating Solar Power Plant With Thermal Energy Storage

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Burkhardt ◽  
Garvin Heath ◽  
Craig Turchi
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Storage ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Heat Transfer Fluid ◽  
Parabolic Trough ◽  
Concentrating Solar Power

This study evaluates the environmental impacts of a hypothetical 103 megawatt, parabolic trough, wet-cooled concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in the U.S. Southwest with 6.3 hours of thermal energy storage by means of a hybrid life cycle assessment. Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions, cumulative energy demand, and water consumption associated with the manufacture, construction, operation, dismantling, and disposal of the power plant are evaluated and disaggregated by major systems and components. The reference CSP plant emits 26 g CO2eq per kWh of electrical output across its life cycle, cumulatively demands 0.43 MJeq/kWh of energy, and consumes 4.7 L/kWh of water. The majority of water is consumed by the power block for evaporative cooling. Sensitivity analyses are performed on several key assumptions and design elements: the configuration of the thermal energy storage system (i.e., thermocline), the heat transfer fluid, the nitrate salts, the cooling system type (i.e., dry-cooled) and the energy required for construction and end-of-life dismantling. Our base case results are robust to alternative assumptions regarding the heat transfer fluid and energy required for construction and dismantling; however, the total life cycle impacts are strongly influenced by the type of cooling system and nitrate salts employed.

Numerical Analysis of Latent Thermal Energy Storage System With Embedded Thermosyphons

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karthik Nithyanandam ◽  
Ranga Pitchumani
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Energy Storage ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Storage System ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Concentrating Solar Power ◽  
Discharge Performance ◽  
Low Thermal Conductivity

Latent thermal energy storage (LTES) system offers high energy storage density and nearly isothermal operation for concentrating solar power generation. However, the low thermal conductivity possessed by the phase change material (PCM) used in LTES system limits the heat transfer rates. Utilizing thermosyphons to charge or discharge a LTES system offers a promising engineering solution to compensate for the low thermal conductivity of the PCM. The present work numerically investigates the enhancement in the thermal performance of charging and discharging process of LTES system by embedding thermosyphons. A transient, computational analysis of the LTES system with embedded thermosyphons is performed for both charging and discharging cycles. The influence of the design configuration of the system and the arrangement of the thermosyphons on the charge and discharge performance of the LTES installed in a concentrating solar power plant (CSP) is analyzed to identify configurations that lead to improved effectiveness.

Thermocline thermal energy storage optimisation combining exergy and life cycle assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 248 ◽  
pp. 114787
Author(s):  
D. Le Roux ◽  
Y. Lalau ◽  
B. Rebouillat ◽  
P. Neveu ◽  
R. Olivès
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Storage ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage
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