Modelling and optimization of concentrated solar power using response surface methodology: A comparative study of air, water, and hybrid cooling techniques

Abstract

This research introduces a novel approach specifically designed to improve the design of Concentrated Solar Power plants utilizing the Response Surface Methodology. The objective of the suggested methodology is to enhance energy production efficiency by simultaneously minimizing the levelized cost of electricity and the land footprint associated with the power plant while comparing three different cooling techniques: air, water, and hybrid. Two software tools, System Advisor Model and Design-Expert, are employed to validate the primary model, evaluate the responses, generate the predictive models, and verify the results. The configuration of a Concentrated Solar Power plant is influenced by four main factors: the size of the solar field (solar multiple), row spacing, number of solar assemblies per loop, and size of thermal energy storage. In this study, these factors are varied within the following ranges: solar multiple from 1 to 5, row spacing from 10 to 30 m, number of solar assemblies from 4 to 10 per loop, and thermal energy storage from 5 to 15 h. The generated predictive models demonstrated very high accuracy, particularly for the annual energy production, with an error ranging between 0.2% and 1.5%. The findings showed that the hybrid cooling system is the most cost-effective cooling technique and has the highest energy output compared to the evaporative and air-cooling methods. When optimizing the required area of the hybrid cooled plant with a reduction of 47.44%, the analysis indicated a minimal decrease in energy output of 3.61% and a slight increase in the levelized cost of electricity by 0.95%. According to the results, the effect of area on the annual energy production and levelized cost of electricity is significant below the optimal area, while this effect becomes minor at higher values.