Novel hybridization of solar central receiver system with combined cycle power plant

This paper presents a novel hybridization of a solar central receiver system via an open volumetric air receiver with a combined cycle. The exhaust gases from a gas turbine before entering a heat recovery steam generator are heated up by the solar heat in a volumetric receiver working as a supplementary firing, in contrast to the solarized gas turbine where the solar heat is introduced into an open or closed Brayton cycle. This hybridization does not require significant modifications in the gas power block. In this study the thermodynamic and economic issues are investigated and complemented with an optimization to demonstrate its technical feasibility. The obtained results reveal noticeable enhancements in solar energy conversion and power plant performance, where the net solar energy ratio may reach up to 23.5% and the overall efficiency about 64.4%. Assessment of the levelized cost of energy led to an estimated value of 0.0335 $/kWh which could be further reduced through an optimization which when the environmental issue is considered becomes more competitive. Furthermore, there is an important fuel saving of 7.07 Million $ and less pollutant emission about 0.33 Million ton over 30 years of operating service. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.