Steps Towards a CSP Yield Calculation Guideline: A First Draft for Discussion in the SolarPACES Working Group guiSmo

Abstract

Broad implementation of concentrating solar power plants (CSP) started about 8 years ago driven by the feed-in tariffs offered under Spanish legislation. With more and more players in this field standardization becomes more important for further reducing costs and increasing plant output. Financing of a CSP plant directly depends on the expected electricity production and corresponding financial revenues. So far, no standardized methodology for yield calculation of CSP plants exists. In 2010, the project guiSmo (guideline for CSP performance modelling) was established under the framework of SolarPACES. By the year 2012, a lot of conceptual work had been carried out by the international team resulting in the definition of an outline of the guideline, a systematic breakdown of typical CSP plants into sub-systems, a list of important terms, and a classification of relevant effects influencing energy yield estimations ([1], [2]). The next logical step of writing handbook chapters could not be realized due to limited resources of all partners. In this situation, a consortium of research institutions and industrial partners obtained national funding from the “German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy” and started the project CSPBankability (Improvement of the bankability for CSP plants) in 2014. The aim of the project is to resume work on the yield calculation guideline and to work out a comprehensive draft. This draft will then be provided to the SolarPACES working group as a proposal for discussion. The near-term goal is a guideline for yield analyses which is approved and published by SolarPACES. The first draft version will cover general aspects and the parabolic trough technology with thermal oil as heat transfer fluid and two-tank molten salt storage as the basic CSP system. Other CSP technologies like Solar Tower and Linear Fresnel will follow shortly after the first draft version. It is planned to start the discussion process on the international level at a working group meeting during the SolarPACES 2015 conference in October. The present paper introduces the most important aspects of the developed guideline and intends to invite interested experts to the discussion.