Analysis & Design of Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal Power Plant for Typical Sites of Pakistan

Abstract

This paper investigates the feasibility of a Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal Power Plant (PTSTPP) for typical sites of Pakistan. The solar resource of the country is assessed against the required insolation levels. An optimum potential site with suitable irradiance level is identified and evaluated on the basis of certain parameters like wind speed, slope, land use, transmission lines, road & railway network, water resources & natural gas availability etc. A location near Nawabshah in Nara desert with total annual direct normal irradiance (DNI) of 2057.6 kWh per m 2 was found suitable for the construction of PTSTPP. A 30MW PTSTPP without any thermal energy storage is proposed on the selected site. The design comprises 56 collector loops with 4 parabolic trough collectors (PTC) per loop. The proposed design is verified with the help of simulation. The designed plant can generate 31.54 MW net on an average day in the month of June. The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is found to be 15.47 cents per kWh. The capacity factor of the proposed power plant comes out to be 20.5%. Cost comparison with conventional fossil fuel & renewable energy power plants already operational in Pakistan predicts that the proposed PTSTP plant can compete well in the current energy market of the country.