Abstract
The energy sector in Chile demands a significant increase in renewable energy sources in the near future, and concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies are becoming increasingly competitive as compared to natural gas plants. Motivated by this, this paper presents a comparison between solar technologies such as hybrid plants and natural gas-based thermal technologies, as both technologies share several characteristics that are comparable and beneficial for the power grid. This comparison is made from an economic point of view using the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) metric and in terms of the systemic benefits related to flexibility, which is very much required due to the current decarbonization scenario of Chile’s energy matrix. The results show that the LCOE of the four hybrid plant models studied is lower than the LCOE of the gas plant. A solar hybrid plant configuration composed of a photovoltaic and solar tower plant (STP) with 13 h of storage and without generation restrictions has an LCOE 53 USD/MWh, while the natural gas technology evaluated with an 85% plant factor and a variable fuel cost of 2.0 USD/MMBtu has an LCOE of 86 USD/MWh. Thus, solar hybrid plants under a particular set of conditions are shown to be more cost-effective than their closest competitor for the Chilean grid while still providing significant dispatchability and flexibility.
Highlights
The energy sector in Chile is the main greenhouse gas emitting sector, with a 69.6% share in 2013
The gross consumption of primary energy in Chile is based on fossil fuels; in 2013, natural gas represented 12.8% of total consumption despite the fact that 80.1% of supplies were imported and its main use was for electricity generation, in which only 5.5% was attributed to other renewable energies including hydroelectric, wind, solar and biogas [6]
One megawatt of installed concentrated solar power (CSP) avoids the emission of 688 tons of CO2 compared to a combined cycle system and 1360 tons of CO2 compared to a coal cycle power plant, as shown by [19,22]
Summary
The energy sector in Chile is the main greenhouse gas emitting sector, with a 69.6% share in 2013. The purpose is to analyze the effect on supply security and economic efficiency of the National Electric System, as well as the local economic activity and its technological and environmental impacts [4] In this same document, it is stated that new coal-fired projects that do not have a carbon capture and storage system or other equivalent technologies will not be developed. This work compares the economic point of view based on the LCOE–between hybrid plants (CSP + PV) and gas plants, analyzing the benefits that each technology contributes to the Chilean electricity system.
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