Air Based Bottoming Cycles for Water Free Hybrid Solar Gas Turbine Power Plants

Abstract

A thermoeconomic model of a novel hybrid solar gasturbine power plant with an airbased bottoming cycle has been developed, allowing its thermodynamic, economic, and environmental performance to be analyzed. Multiobjective optimization has been performed to identify the tradeoffs between two conflicting objectives: minimum capital cost and minimum specific CO2 emissions. Indepth thermoeconomic analysis reveals that the additional bottoming cycle significantly reduces both the levelized cost of electricity and the environmental impact of the power plant (in terms of CO2 emissions and water consumption) when compared to a simple gasturbine power plant without bottoming cycle. Overall, the novel concept appears to be a promising solution for sustainable power generation, especially in waterscarce areas.