ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF SOLAR THERMAL POWER GENERATION: A CASE STUDY FOR INDIAN CONDITIONS

Abstract

This paper presents economic evaluation of solar thermal power generation for Indian conditions. The study incorporates case study of parabolic trough collector technology for power generation in 30 MW scale taking into account various options such as Solar Alone and Solar Hybrid. Sensitivity analysis by varying plant load factor, discount rate and the capital cost etc. has also been carried out for both - the Solar Alone and Solar Hybrid case. It is found that Solar Hybrid system is a better option than Solar Alone and the cost of power generation is competitive with conventional means. It is also concluded that unit cost of generation is critically dependent on the capital cost of the plant, discount rate and the number of units generated.