THERMOECONOMIC EVALUATION OF SOLAR THERMAL AND PHOTOVOLTAIC HYBRIDIZATION OPTIONS FOR COMBINED-CYCLE POWER PLANTS

The hybridization of combined-cycle power plants with solar energy is an attractive means of reducing carbon dioxide emissions from gas-based power generation. However, the construction of the first generation of commercial hybrid power plants will present the designer with a large number of choices. To assist decision making, a thermoeconomic study has been performed for three different hybrid power plant configurations, including both solar thermal and photovoltaic hybridization options. Solar photovoltaic combined-cycle power plants were shown to be able to integrate up to 63 % solar energy on an annual basis, whereas hybrid gas-turbine combined-cycle systems provide the lowest cost of solar electricity, with costs only 2.1 % higher than a reference, unmodified combined-cycle power plant. The integrated solar combined-cycle configuration has been shown to be economically unattractive.