Energy Yield of Spectral Splitting Concentrated Solar Power Photovoltaic Systems

Combined concentrated solar power with photovoltaics can provide electricity and heat at the same system while maximizing the power output with reduced losses. Spectral splitting is required in such systems to separate the infrared part of the solar spectrum towards the thermal system, while the visible and near-infrared radiation can be converted by the photovoltaic solar cell. The performance of concentrated solar power plants comprising reflective beam splitters for combined generation of electricity and heat is presented in this work. A 50 MW power plant is considered in this work as a case of study in Southern Crete, Greece. The solar power plant consists of parabolic trough collectors and utilizes beam splitters with varying reflectivity. The dynamic performance of the power plant is modeled, and the annual energy yield can be calculated. Up to 350 MWt of thermal power can be delivered to the photovoltaic system utilizing a 50% reflecting splitter. The penalty to the high-reflectivity system is limited to 16.9% and the annual energy yield is calculated as 53.32 GWh. During summer months, a higher energy yield by up to 84.8 MWh/month is produced at 80% reflectivity compared to 90% as a result of the number of parabolic troughs. The reported energy yields with reflectivity by dynamic modeling can highlight discrete points for improvement of the performance in concentrated solar power photovoltaics.