Design of the First Chinese 1 MW Solar-Power Tower Demonstration Plant

Abstract

This article presents thermodynamic performance of a solar-power towerplant, DAHAN, which is constructed in Beijing as the first Chinesesolar-power tower demonstration plant. Different from the existingsolar-power tower plant, the DAHAN configuration includes a two stagethermal-energy storage system consisting of a high-temperature oilaccumulator and a low-temperature steam accumulator. The sensible heatand latent heat of steam are stored in the high-and low-temperatureaccumulators, respectively. The new plant is designed in such a way thatduring the operation the receiver can be connected to a steam turbine orenergy storage system. Software that simulates the performance of theplant has been developed and the thermodynamic performance of the plantwas investigated. The results show that the annual thermal efficiencyfrom solar to power of the plant can reach 8.35%. The annual efficiencyof plant can be increased by 0.65 percentage points at the optimalcondition. The results provide a better understanding for the design andoperation of solar-power tower plant.