Session: 17-01: Symposium Steinfeld - Solar Energy Perspectives

Paper Number: 147255

147255 - Hybrid Solar CSP, PV and Thermal Energy Storage for Baseload Power, Industrial Process Heat and Solar Fuels 

Abstract: 

Various countries have pledged to triple the global Renewable Energy generation to 11,000 GW by 2030 at the COP28 meeting in 2023. To meet this goal, almost 1,100 GW of renewable power will have to be added every year until 2030, most of it from solar energy. Since solar and wind energy are intermittent, and solar energy is available only during daytime, careful planning is needed to select the right type of solar technologies with enough energy storage to provide baseload and on demand power. To achieve success, the following KEY OBJECTIVES are essential:

1.      The Renewable Energy (RE) power plants must provide power 24/7, and have a Design Life of at least 30 years, preferably more than 40 years.

2.      There must be sufficient energy storage capacity at the power generation site to ensure power availability day and night, during peak times and during long cloudy periods.

The two main solar technologies for electrical power are Photovoltaics (PV) and Concentrated Solar Thermal Power (CSP). With technological advances, the costs of PV panels have reduced a lot and will continue to reduce even more with new scientific and technological advancements, which has led to its widespread adoption around the world. However, we need batteries with PV to provide storage during non-solar hours, whose capacity degrades with usage losing at least 2% efficacy every year, and they must be replaced every 10 – 15 years. When the cost of batteries for a lifetime of 30 -40 years is added, the lifetime costs of  PV + Battery systems become quite expensive and the levelized cost of energy becomes uneconomic. CSP systems, on the other hand, use thermal energy storage (TES) by design that have a lifetime of more than 30 – 40 years. Moreover, since a CSP system can provide heat at very high temperatures, it can also be used for Industrial Process Heat (IPH) and solar liquid fuel production using atmospheric CO₂. However, the costs of CSP systems are high, which is why their commercial adoption has lagged behind. Analysis shows that a hybrid of solar PV, CSP and TES can provide the least cost solar power system for 24/7 baseload power when designed for a lifetime of more than 30 years. In addition, that system can also be used for solar fuels production and IPH.

The presentation will describe the hybrid systems as well as their capital and levelized energy costs for a lifetime of 30 years or more.

Presenting Author: D. Yogi Goswami University of South Florida

Presenting Author Biography: Dr. D. Yogi Goswami is a Distinguished University Professor and Director of the Clean Energy Research Center at the University of South Florida.
Professor Goswami is the Editor-in-Chief of Solar Compass and the Emeritus Editor-in-Chief of the Solar Energy journal. He has published 23 books and more than 400 refereed technical papers. He also holds 37 patents, some of which have been successfully commercialized. Dr. Goswami has developed successful industrial ventures based on his inventions and other innovations and has served on the boards of many companies.

Prof. Goswami has served as President of the International Solar Energy Society (ISES), a Governor and Senior VP of ASME-International, and President of the International Association for Solar Energy Education (IASEE). He serves on the Board of Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine of Florida (ASEMFL) and Pan American Academy of Engineering.
Dr. Goswami is a recipient of the highest awards of many professional societies related to solar energy including the Farrington Daniels Award from ISES, Frank Kreith Energy award and medal from ASME, John Yellott Award for Solar Energy from ASME, the Charles Greely Abbott award and Hoyt Clark Hottel award of the ASES and the Karl Boer award and medal from the University of Delaware.
Dr. Goswami is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and has been inducted in the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame.

Authors:

D. Yogi Goswami University of South Florida