System-level comparison of sodium and salt systems in support of the Gen3 liquids pathway

Armando Fontalvo, Salvatore Guccione, Ye Wang, Shuang Wang, Zebedee Kee, Charles Alexis Asselineau, Daniel Potter, Felix Venn, Janna Martinek, Craig Turchi, Joe Coventry, John Pye*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper presents the comparison of the annual performance and the Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE) of two high- temperature solar power tower configurations using a 565MWth chloride salt receiver and a 540 MWth liquid sodium receiver. Each power tower consists of a sodium or salt receiver, a 175?m high concrete tower, and a two-tank chloride salt system for thermal energy storage (TES). The power plants were simulated using SolarTherm to estimate their energy per year, capacity factor, and LCOE. The simulation was verified against the System Advisor Model (SAM), showing that the LCOE calculation differences are within ±1.0%. Results showed that the sodium-receiver system yields 69.60 USD/MWh real LCOE, versus 78.55 USD/MWh for the chloride salt system. Results also showed that sodium wins here due to a smaller and more efficient receiver, enabled by higher flux limits and reduced field size, leading to less mirror reflective area and site improvement cost.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationSolarPACES 2020 - 26th International Conference on Concentrating Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems
EditorsChristoph Richter, Avi Shultz
PublisherAmerican Institute of Physics Inc.
Number of pages10
Volume2445
Edition1
ISBN (Electronic)9780735441958
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 12 May 2022
Event26th International Conference on Concentrating Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems, SolarPACES 2020 - Freiburg, Virtual, Germany
Duration: 28 Sept 20202 Oct 2020

Publication series

NameAIP Conference Proceedings
Volume2445
ISSN (Print)0094-243X
ISSN (Electronic)1551-7616

Conference

Conference26th International Conference on Concentrating Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems, SolarPACES 2020
Country/TerritoryGermany
CityFreiburg, Virtual
Period28/09/202/10/20

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