Predictive Performance Simulation of Concentrated Solar Power Technologies in Three Selected Cities in Northern Nigeria (PDF)

In this work a predictive performance simulation of Solar Tower and Parabolic Trough Concentrating Solar Power plants was undertaken for three sites in Northern Nigeria. The simulation was done using Solar Advisor Model (SAM). The three sites - Minna, Kano, and Sokoto - were selected based on their Direct Normal Irradiation (DNI) values and hours of sunshine per day which are comparable to that of the sites where Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants are operating in Southern Spain.
The simulation process adopted for this study includes: configuration of receiver and collector components, selection of Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF) and specification of the operating temperatures, sizing and configuration of solar field, specification of power cycle design point, specification of the thermal storage parameters, and optimization of hour of thermal energy storage, solar multiple and cooling system.
The results show that the Solar Tower plant is more favoured to be adopted for use in the study sites because it has higher annual electrical energy generation, a higher capacity factor and lower Levelised costs of electricity. The Net Present Value of the CSP plants at all the sites is positive implying that the project is economically viable. The study also showed that at solar multiple of 2, the levelised cost of electricity for both Solar Towers and Parabolic Troughs is the lowest, irrespective of the cooling system (wet or dry cooling). Solar multiple has no effect on the water usage irrespective of the CSP plant. Dry cooling system reduces the water usage by 86% and 95% for Solar Tower and Parabolic Trough plants, respectively. The annual electrical energy generations of the CSP plants increase with increasing solar multiple. Dry cooling systems reduce the annual electrical energy generation in the range of 7.3 to 7.5 percent for the Solar Tower plant and 8 to 9 percent for the Parabolic Trough plant.