Eventos Anais de eventos
COBEM 2021
26th International Congress of Mechanical Engineering
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF DESIGN POINT DIRECT NORMAL IRRADIANCE SPECIFICATION METHODS
Submission Author:
João Humberto Serafim Martins , SC
Co-Authors:
João Humberto Serafim Martins, Lauro Augusto Jeronimo Oliveira, Edson Bazzo, Júlio Passos
Presenter: João Humberto Serafim Martins
doi://10.26678/ABCM.COBEM2021.COB2021-1208
Abstract
This study presents a comparison of the main approaches used for obtaining the design point direct normal irradiance (DNI), a fundamental input for the design and simulation of concentrated solar power (CSP) plants, aiming to assess its impacts on the facility’s technical and economic performance. The software System Advisor Model (SAM) is used for parametric analysis and estimation of the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and the capacity factor (CF) under different design point DNIs. The first method appraised defines the design DNI as the solar irradiance at noon of the summer solstice, the second at noon of the spring equinox, and the third at noon of the autumn equinox. In addition to these conventional methods, the average value of the daily maximum irradiances and a methodology based on the frequency distribution of the TMY were considered as selection methods. The analysis was carried out for plants with a rated electric output of 125 MWe and 7 hours TES capacity at different locations with CSP projects in operation or under development worldwide. In general, it was found that the solstice and equinox-based methods result in considerable variability in the design DNI for both tropical and temperate zones, which led to a higher dispersion for the resultant LCOEs and CFs, and also made some simulations unfeasible. In contrast, the TMY-based methods resulted in a smaller spread. Despite that, the calculated LCOEs were not very sensitive to method change, with a slight advantage for the last methodology. At the same time, it brought a stronger influence to the CF, which was higher for the methodologies based on the whole TMY because of the higher optimized SMs for such locations. This study’s importance lies in comparing these methods to fill a gap in the literature, which can guide their choice for future CSP simulations.
Keywords
design point, Direct Normal Irradiance, parabolic trough collector, concentrated solar power, System Advisor Model
