Evaluation of a Small-Scale CSP Plant Using POLYPHEM Technology, a Solar Tower Driven Combined GT and ORC With TES

Abstract

An innovative small-scale CSP tower plant, developed within the European research project POLYPHEM, was technically and economically evaluated and a benchmarking study was carried out including competing solutions to cover electricity demand of two remote locations with no existing access to national grid. First of all, this study shows that the POLYPHEM technology is able to deliver electricity at the target cost for this project. Regarding the cost of electricity per technology, the LCOE of POLYPHEM was higher than the PV+BESS solution, competitive with grid expansion, and significantly lower than diesel generators. Some additional relevant improvements such as the ability of delivering heat and integration of water desalination system, necessary for such a system to expand its competitiveness, were identified towards developing a roadmap to bring small-scale CSP projects to market within another study. In this study, the benchmarking is solely based on electricity production.

Keywords

• Solar Tower Technology
• Small-Scale CSP
• Thermocline Storage
• Micro-Gas Turbine
• Organic Rankine Cycle