Design concepts for spillage recovery in a molten salt central receiver

Abstract

This work evaluates concepts of hybridizing the molten salt central receiver design to recover spilled energy in an effort to reduce the electricity cost. The hybridization is done using existing technologies requiring marginal improvements. A simplified assessment is done to arrive at a target cost of two spillage recovery system without changing the prevailing levelized cost of electricity (LCoE) from the reference solar power plant. The target cost of the spillage recovery system using feedwater heater panels is $49M, whereas for concentrated photovoltaic modules, it is $40M. Integrating such systems with the tower type receiver below the target price is expected to reduce the LCoE of the plant. However, project specific conditions and requirements may also play an important role and should be taken into consideration with a more detailed overall plant level study to determine the feasibility of the hybridization concepts in a specific project.