LAPSE:2023.26439
Published Article
LAPSE:2023.26439
Comparative Analysis and Design of a Solar-Based Parabolic Trough−ORC Cogeneration Plant for a Commercial Center
Eduardo A. Pina, Luis M. Serra, Miguel A. Lozano, Adrián Hernández, Ana Lázaro
April 3, 2023
This paper performs technical, economic and environmental feasibility analyses of two different solar cogeneration plants, consisting of a solar system (a parabolic trough collector field coupled with thermal energy storage), an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), and mechanical chillers, that should cover the electrical and cooling demands of a commercial center located in Zaragoza (Spain). System A is hybridized with an auxiliary biomass boiler that complements the solar system’s thermal production, providing a constant heat supply to the ORC, which operates at full load during the operating hours of the solar system. In contrast, system B is not hybridized with biomass, so the ORC is fully driven by the solar system, operating at partial load according to the solar resource availability. Both systems are connected to the electrical grid, allowing electricity purchases and sales when needed. The design procedure involves the sizing of the equipment as well as the modelling of the hourly behavior of each system throughout the year. The physical analysis is complemented by an economic assessment, which considers investment and variable costs, as well as an estimate of the significant environmental benefits of the proposed plants. The solar plants are compared to a conventional system in which all the electrical consumption is covered with electricity purchased from the grid. The costs of the electricity produced by systems A and B are estimated at 0.2030 EUR/kWh and 0.1458 EUR/kWh, which are about 49% and 7% higher than the electricity purchase price in Spain (0.1363 EUR/kWh). These results indicate that while none of the solar plants are presently competitive with the conventional system, system B (without biomass hybridization) is actually closer to economic feasibility in the short and medium term than system A (with biomass hybridization).
Keywords
Biomass, commercial center, CSP, parabolic trough, solar cogeneration, solar cooling
Suggested Citation
Pina EA, Serra LM, Lozano MA, Hernández A, Lázaro A. Comparative Analysis and Design of a Solar-Based Parabolic Trough−ORC Cogeneration Plant for a Commercial Center. (2023). LAPSE:2023.26439
Author Affiliations
Pina EA: Group of Thermal Engineering and Energy Systems (GITSE) of Aragon Institute of Engineering Research (I3A), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad de Zaragoza, Calle María de Luna sn, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain [ORCID]
Serra LM: Group of Thermal Engineering and Energy Systems (GITSE) of Aragon Institute of Engineering Research (I3A), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad de Zaragoza, Calle María de Luna sn, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain [ORCID]
Lozano MA: Group of Thermal Engineering and Energy Systems (GITSE) of Aragon Institute of Engineering Research (I3A), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad de Zaragoza, Calle María de Luna sn, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain [ORCID]
Hernández A: Group of Thermal Engineering and Energy Systems (GITSE) of Aragon Institute of Engineering Research (I3A), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad de Zaragoza, Calle María de Luna sn, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
Lázaro A: Group of Thermal Engineering and Energy Systems (GITSE) of Aragon Institute of Engineering Research (I3A), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad de Zaragoza, Calle María de Luna sn, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
Journal Name
Energies
Volume
13
Issue
18
Article Number
E4807
Year
2020
Publication Date
2020-09-14
Published Version
ISSN
1996-1073
Version Comments
Original Submission
Other Meta
PII: en13184807, Publication Type: Journal Article
Record Map
Published Article

LAPSE:2023.26439
This Record
External Link

doi:10.3390/en13184807
Publisher Version
Download
Files
[Download 1v1.pdf] (4.9 MB)
Apr 3, 2023
Main Article
License
CC BY 4.0
Meta
Record Statistics
Record Views
93
Version History
[v1] (Original Submission)
Apr 3, 2023
 
Verified by curator on
Apr 3, 2023
This Version Number
v1
Citations
Most Recent
This Version
URL Here
https://psecommunity.org/LAPSE:2023.26439
 
Original Submitter
Auto Uploader for LAPSE
Links to Related Works
Directly Related to This Work
Publisher Version