Thermo-economic analysis of the SOLRGT hybrid power system

A novel low/mid-temperature solar heat-fossil fuel hybrid power system, SOLRGT, has been analyzed. Consisting of a chemically recuperated gas turbine cycle, the hybrid system integrates power generation with solar heat-driven steam generation and methane steam reforming. The system integration enables the complementary utilization of fossil fuel and solar heat, and attains their high efficiency conversion into electricity. The research results show that the specific total plant cost of SOLRGT is 751 $/kW, the cost of electricity is 0.0635 $/kWh and the payback period is 12.1 years. As compared with the single-input reference systems, the hybrid system exhibits the advantage of reduced cost of electricity by up to 17%~20%.