Design and Analysis of a CSP Plant Integrated with PCM Reservoirs in a Combined Storage System for Uninterrupted Power Production

Abstract

India is really blessed with good solar resources. Many regions of the country receive above-average sunlight compared to other regions of the world. Solar energy will act as an important role in India’s future energy sources. The basic technology is used for receiving and converting solar radiation into electrical energy in India is based on photovoltaic (PV) cells. Concentrated solar power (CSP) has scarcely presented to the overall lodged solar power capacity in the country. A tremendous quantity of heat is necessitating running a CSP plant. Although, by using this wide energy range is possible only if the powerful technology for its storage can be succeed with acceptable running and capital costs. The main drawback of the solar thermal power plant is its unavailability at night time. Thermal energy storage (TES) systems deliver various options for the use and conservation of efficient energy. Phase change materials (PCMs) are used in TES to store energy by changing its form from solid to liquid or vice versa by absorbing or releasing the heat to the medium. PCMs in specific and TES, in general, have been a major issue in research for the last 30 years to the researchers. In this paper, two different types of storage systems have been used in series by using phase change materials (PCMs). It is a fruitful way of storing energy to counter this difficulty. Thermodynamic analysis and design of a CSP plant have been done in a combined storage system of sensible and latent storage for continuous power production.