Feasibility study using TRANSYS modelling of integrating solar heated feed water to a cogeneration steam power plant

Abstract

A feasibility of feed water heating of a 62 MW cogeneration power plant, Shoaiba, KSA, (21 °N) through integrated parabolic trough solar collectors has been technically and economically provided. Extracted steam from turbine to the highest-pressure feed water heater (FWH) is replaced by the solar collectors. A transient simulation model was created by TRNSYS simulation software to find the annual performance of the power plant integrated with solar system. The power block simulation results were validated with the designed data of the conventional power plant. The annual performance of the system was estimated as the average solar power generation and solar fraction. Economic feasibility analysis was considered in this work to estimate the life cycle savings (LCS), levelized cost of energy (LCOE), payback lifetime and amount of fuel saved. It was found optimum system sizing at which the system has the maximum LCS which equals 41.5 Million U$ at 150,000 m2. It can achieve an annual solar fraction of 28% at which the solar system can produce 1.72E+11 kJ while the payback lifetime was estimated as 14.6 years. Moreover, 4,619 tons fuel can be saved that is corresponding to 777.34 tons CO2 can be avoided annually as the environmental impact.

Keywords

• Solar power generation
• Feed water heaters
• Parabolic trough collector
• TRNSYS
• Economic optimization
• Fuel savings