Economic Optimization of a Thermal Solar Power Plant That Operates With a HRB Cycle by Improving the Operation Schedule

Abstract

In this paper, two solutions are proposed to increase the sales revenue of a pre-sized solar thermal power plant (STPP) that operates with a Hybrid Rankine Brayton cycle (HRB) by changing the reference operating parameters. In the first solution, the turbine inlet temperature value is optimized to increase the energy production. In the second solution, a  new dispatch strategy that prioritizes energy production during the hours of higher sales price is additionally implemented in low solar radiation months. In the remaining months, the reference dispatch strategy that prioritizes production from energy coming directly from the solar field over energy from storage system is maintained. The incremental sales revenue of each solution proposed over the reference case is calculated considering hourly SPOT prices for a three-year period and considering hourly annual simulations for a typical year.