System Advisor Model Software Research Articles

Renewable energy potential in the State of Palestine: Proposals for sustainability

Renewable energy is not only a viable economic choice in Palestine, but it is also an imperative requirement to end the country's current energy crisis, which is particularly acute in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The main focus of this study, which makes it the most thorough in its sector, is showcasing Palestine's distinct renewable energy potentials (thermal solar, PV, wind, biomass, and hydropower). The System Advisor Model software (SAM) was used to predict the power potentials for a year. The results indicate that Palestine has a significant potential for PV power generation within 1,700 kWh/kWp. Wind energy can see a considerable difference in capacity, with a mean power density in the high mountains of WB of 600 W/m2, a mean power density for all of WB of 300 W/m2, and a relatively low power density for GS of less than 100 W/m2. Options for investments in the high seas and with the nearby Arabic nations were also offered. About 1,717 GWh of energy equivalent comes from biomass resources. It is determined that the best designed system can produce 82 % of the total while only 18 % is purchased from the grid using HOMER to retrieve the optimum on-grid hybrid energy system. Furthermore, only 70.7 % of the energy produced is consumed, with the remainder being sold back to the grid. Therefore, using renewable energy sources in addition to the grid is advised to cut costs and potentially generate income. Reduce reliance on fossil fuels and combat global warming, as well.

A novel socio-economic-environmental model to maximize prosumer satisfaction in smart residential complexes

As the adoption of distributed and renewable energy resources helps consumers evolve into prosumers who generate and trade their own energy, optimizing distributed renewable energy resources, electric vehicles, and energy storage in smart residential complexes is crucial to enhance satisfaction and capitalize on their potential for environmental and economic benefits. Nonetheless, limited progress has been made to quantify the impact of prosumer and energy manager preferences and the integrated socio-economic-environmental dynamics on energy scheduling and stakeholder satisfaction within smart communities. This study aims to overcome this challenge by proposing a socio-economic-environmental optimization model based on a preference-oriented management approach, which quantifies the impact of energy scheduling on stakeholder satisfaction in smart communities. The model inputs include infrastructure configurations, energy consumption patterns, and weather data. The simulation method includes the application of deep learning and System Advisor Model software in predicting weather conditions and photovoltaic and wind turbine systems energy generation. The simulation results are then imported as parameters in GAMS software to optimize the stakeholder satisfaction using CPLEX solver. Quantitative results show that with the simultaneous use of electric vehicles and energy exchange between energy communities, the highest level of satisfaction of the stakeholders in the smart grid including energy communities has been achieved at hour 24 and at the rate of 0.99 per-unit. The model reveals notable enhancements in stakeholder satisfaction, particularly through the integration of electric vehicles and energy trading in smart grids. It underscores the critical impact of aligning renewable energy strategies with prosumer socio-economic-environmental preferences, offering valuable insights for energy managers, policymakers, and community planners in fostering efficient, community-oriented smart grid systems.

Techno-economic feasibility analysis of a large-scale parabolic trough thermal power plant in Effurun-Warri, Nigeria

Abstract 
 In the modern world, solar energy is one of the most mature renewable energy resources for electricity generation. Because of the growing interest in green energy and CO2 reduction, concentrated power technologies have gained prominence all over the world. Several parabolic trough power plants are currently operational in various parts of the world. However, despite the region's favorable weather conditions, Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa have yet to adopt this technology. To galvanize the integration of solar energy into the energy infrastructure in Nigeria, technical and economic feasibility studies are required. This paper presents a techno-economic viability assessment of a 25 MW Parabolic Trough solar thermal power plant for electricity generation in Effurun-Warri, Nigeria. The System Advisor Model (SAM) software was used for the analysis, based on the validated technical and financial models inbuilt into the software. Results showed that the plant is technically feasible in Effurun-Warri with a capacity factor of over 35%, which compares favourably with other similar plants across the globe. However, the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of 11.87 cents/kWh obtained is significantly higher than the subsidized cost of electricity in the country, by about 99%, leading to a negative net present value of the project. To improve cost, optimized design parameters of the plant should be adopted for performance simulation in the SAM software.

Investigation of the Thermophysical Properties of Nanofluids Based on Metal Oxides: Application in Concentrated Solar Power Plants

Solar energy is a renewable source of energy that does not emit greenhouse gases. The sun is free, inexhaustible and available all over the world. The sun's rays can be used to produce energy in two ways. The first technique converts the sun's rays into electricity using photovoltaic panels, while the second converts the sun's rays into heat using concentrated solar power plants (CSP). Several studies have been carried out with the aim of improving the performance of these solar power plants in order to achieve high efficiency, which is the case in our study. In this work a numerical study was carried out on the effect of nanoparticles on the thermophysical properties of nanofluids with the aim of determining the most optimal nanofluid for use as a heat transfer fluid in concentrated solar power plants. The nanoparticles examined were metal oxides (SIO2, MgO and Fe3O4), which were dispersed in Therminol VP-1 and Syltherm 800. The thermophysical properties examined were density, thermal conductivity and heat capacity. To carry out this study, we set the temperature from 200 to 400°C at the same operating temperature as the concentrating solar power plant.After evaluating the effect of nanoparticles on the thermophysical properties, we studied the behaviour of the CSP plant based on nanofluids using SAM (System Advisor Model) software. The results obtained are very encouraging and show that the addition of nanoparticles to a base fluid improves its thermophysical properties compared with the pure base fluid, and the rate of improvement in thermal conductivity exceeds 9%. We also found that the nanofluid (Fe3O4 /Therminol Vp1) is the best selected for use as a heat transfer fluid in concentrated solar power plants with an efficiency and thermal energy produced equal to 40.87% and 588164 MWht, respectively.

Potential of Reducing CO2 Emission Using Parabolic Trough Collector for 13.75MW Desalination Processes

Desalination is an important process in fulfilling the freshwater demands of both the industrial sector and human needs. Typically, thermal desalination processes rely on fossil fuels to minimize production costs. However, using fossil fuel in desalination contributes to releasing CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Therefore, it is essential to utilize renewable energy sources to mitigate the production of CO2 emissions. To reduce CO2 emissions research has been conducted to explore the potential use of parabolic trough solar collectors in harnessing available solar energy at the power plant site for thermal desalination processes which required 13.75 MW of thermal energy. The study utilized the system advisor model software to assess the collector’s system performance. The research findings indicate that 416 units of parabolic trough solar collectors are required to fulfill the thermal power needs. The presence of these solar collectors has the potential to generate 26.06 GWh of thermal power, thereby reducing coal consumption by 5,740.4 metric tons per year and directly lowering CO2 emissions by 13,892 metric tons per year.

Assessment of the technical-economic performance and optimization of a parabolic trough solar power plant under Algerian climatic conditions

In this study, the design, analysis and optimization of the performance of a concentrated solar power plant that is based on the parabolic trough technology with a capacity of 100 MW equipped with a thermal energy storage system were conducted, in two representative sites in Algeria (Tamanrasset and M’Sila). The System Advisor Model software is used to evaluate the technical and economic performances of the two proposed power plants, in addition to carrying out the process of optimizing the initial design of the two power plants by finding the optimal values of the solar multiple and full load hours of the thermal energy storage system, with the aim of increasing the annual energy production and reducing the levelized cost of electricity. The results of the performance analysis conducted on the optimized design showed that the optimum values of the solar multiple and full load hours of the thermal energy storage system for the proposed power plant at the Tamanrasset site were found to be 2.4 and 7 h, respectively, with an annual electricity production of 514.6 GWh, and a minimum value of the levelized cost of electricity of 6.3¢/kWh. While the optimum performance of the proposed plant at the M'Sila site can be achieved by selecting a solar multiple of 3 and 7 h for thermal energy storage system, with a high annual energy production of 451.84 GWh and a low value of the levelized cost of electricity of 7.8¢/kWh. The results demonstrate that CSP plants using parabolic trough technology can increase energy security in the country, while reducing environmental concerns associated with the use of fossil materials.

Techno-environ-economic assessment of photovoltaic and CSP with storage systems in China and Egypt under various climatic conditions

The goal of this research is to conduct a techno-environ-economic assessment of the two primary electrical energy generation technologies-photovoltaic and concentrating solar power with the storage system. The comparative technical analysis is based on solar to electrical efficiency, electrical output, capacity utilization factor, and land use factor, whereas the financial comparison considers factors like net present value, net capital cost, levelized cost of electricity, payback period, and greenhouse gas emission. The present simulation is carried out utilizing System Advisor Model software. The findings show that while installing photovoltaic power plants in China is the ideal option, establishing concentrating solar power plants in Egyptian meteorological conditions is the optimum alternative. Moreover, the results indicate that by comparing the best scenario for a photovoltaic plant with the best scenario for a concentrated solar power plant, the latter generates 33.34% more electricity. The findings also demonstrate that concentrated solar power plants use 48.7% of their capacity utilization factor, as opposed to photovoltaic plants, which only use 29.2% of their capacity utilization factor. Furthermore, the results imply the ability of concentrated solar power and photovoltaic to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 98.1% and 95.8%, respectively.

Receiver parameter optimization for nanofluid-based parabolic trough concentrating plant: a case study

ABSTRACT The disadvantage of using nanofluids as a heat transfer fluid in the Parabolic Trough Concentrating solar power plant is increased pressure drops. Therefore, more attention should be paid to optimizing the receiver pipe diameter. The aim of this study was to optimize a new receiver to study the industrial process performance of nanofluid-based Parabolic Trough Concentrating plants in 4 different regions in southern Algeria (Hassi rmel, In salah, Tamnrasset, and Bechar). Nanoparticles (Al2O3, CuO) were added to both base liquids (Dowtherm A, Therminol VP-1). The methodology is based on a two-step approach: first, the effects of nanoparticles and temperature on the thermophysical properties of nanofluids, such as thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, and density, are numerically investigated using the MATLAB program; second, nanofluids properties are integrated into SAM (System Advisor Model) software to perform a 50 MW parabolic trough solar power plant with 25% of a backup system and nanofluids in heat transfer system for the different representative locations of the climate of Algeria. The results of the first part show that the addition of nanoparticles increases the thermal conductivity and density of the nanofluid by 11% and 23%, respectively, and the specific heat capacity is proportional to temperature. The most favorable site is Insalah with an optimal SM egale to 3 and a capacity factor of 51%. Finally, the use of nanofluids as a heat transfer fluid in solar power plants plays a great role in improving its efficiency, the best choice for nanofluids under Algerian climates is CuO/Dowtherm A with an optimal tube diameter of 0.07 m.

Techno-economic assessment and optimization of the performance of solar power tower plant in Egypt's climate conditions

Egypt is a sunbelt nation with plenty of solar resources and significant wasteland areas, particularly in its southern and western regions. Concentrating solar power technologies are tried-and-true renewable energy systems that use solar radiation to produce electricity in nearby nations. These technologies have the potential to reduce costs in the future. Comprehensive techno-economic research has not been conducted to assess the potential for the solar power tower technique in Egypt; instead, solar photovoltaic and parabolic trough systems are given the majority of the attention. The major goal of this article is to persuade the Egyptian government to pursue solar power tower technology and meet the accompanying difficulties. Using system advisor model software, six distinct locations were used to simulate a 100 MW plant for solar power tower technology. Based on a thorough technical solar power tower site evaluation research, these zones were examined. To achieve the lowest levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), thermal energy storage and solar field size optimization are carried out. The Benban location, with outputs of 521,228.8 MWh and 0.1130 $/kWh, respectively, has the greatest produced energy and the lowest levelized cost of electricity, according to the findings. The ideal design for the solar power tower plant was shown by the results to be a solar multiple of 2.8 with a thermal energy storage of 8 h. The solar power tower plant's lowest levelized cost of electricity might then be reduced, in accordance with the optimum configurations, to 0.1057 $/kWh.

Bir Çatı Üstü Fotovoltaik Sistem için SAM ve PVsyst Simülasyonlarının Karşılaştırmalı Analizi

Turkiye is a country rich in renewable energy resources, one of which is its tremendous potential, especially in solar energy. Investments in photovoltaic systems are increasing day by day in order to evaluate this potential The simulations of these systems, which will be established while making investment plans, are very important in terms of investment return times. In this study, information and data were obtained from a working rooftop photovoltaic system and simulations were carried out using PVsyst and system advisor model (SAM) software. The simulation data was compared with the power plant's electricity generation data using statistical analysis methods of deviation, Root Mean Square Error (RMSD), and Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD). When all these analysis methods were evaluated, it was seen that the error and deviation values of the SAM software were lower on an annual basis. On the other hand, it has been determined that the error and deviation values of the PVsyst software are lower on a monthly basis.

Design of an isolated renewable hybrid energy system: a case study

In addition to the fact that most renewable energies such as solar and wind energy have become more competitive in the global energy market, thanks to the great development in conversion technologies, it believes that renewable energy can play a crucial role in global environmental issues. However, in Palestine, the situation is different from anywhere else; renewable energy is not only an economic option, but an absolute necessity to get out of the energy crisis that Palestinian cities suffer from long years ago and continue nowadays. The cornerstone of the present research is focusing on the availability of renewable energy resources in Jenin Governorate (JG)—West Bank (WB)—Palestine. Two-year time-series of hourly solar, wind, biomass, and 1-year hourly electrical load data are used in the analysis in this paper. The energy potentials were estimated using System Advisor Model software (SAM), and the optimum combination and sizing of the hybrid renewable energy system were determined using Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER). The proposed Hybrid Renewable Energy System (HRES) consists of an 80 MW PV solar field, 66 MW wind farm, and 50 MW biomass system with an initial investment of $323 M. The proposed HRES generates 389 GWh/yr and is enough to meet 100% of the electrical demand of JG (372 GWh/yr) with excess in electricity generation of about 4.57% and the unmeet electric load is about 109.6 MWh/yr which is equivalent to less than 2 h off in a year. The estimated Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) was found as 0.313 $/kWh.

Technoeconomic Evaluation of Electricity Generation from Concentrated Solar Power Technologies in Ghana

This work estimates the annual energy that could be generated from a concentrated solar power (CSP) plant. The optimal location used for this analysis was selected based on a set of multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) methods employed in an earlier research. The paper also determines the financial viability of implementing a CSP plant within the selected location. A 100 MW CSP plant for the said location was modelled and simulated using the System Advisor Model (SAM) software with data from the online database of the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) available from the SAM software. Using a solar multiple of 2.0 with a TES of 6 hours, the plant generated an estimated annual energy of 306.850 GWh with a capacity factor of 35.10% and gross-to-net conversion of 89.10%. The months with the highest generation were from November to March while July to September had the least generation. Generation begins from 8 am, rising to a peak around 12 pm to 4 pm and gradually declines into the night. Results from the financial analysis produced a net present value (NPV) of USD 156,287,433.72 after the plant life of 25 years, indicating profitability of the project. Results from the sensitivity analysis showed that the project NPV became negative only when the base case capital cost, electricity price, and revenue were, respectively, increased by 15%, reduced by 10%, and reduced by 13%.

TECHNO-ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF A 25 MW SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM FOR ELECTRICITY GENERATION IN EFFURUN-WARRI, NIGERIA

This paper was aimed at the techno-economic feasibility assessment of a 25 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) system for electricity generation in Effurun-Warri, Nigeria. The system advisor model (SAM) software was used to design and simulate the solar PV modules for power generation. Furthermore, the standard and validated models inbuilt in the SAM software were employed to analyze the techno-economic performance of the system and the energy losses. Results showed that the extent of energy losses considered in the design of the PV system had significant effects on system performance. For the 25 MW system assessed in this study, the highest monthly energy production was obtained at 3.9 GWh in January and the lowest at 1.9 GWh in July. Also, the total annual energy produced by the PV system was observed to depreciate as the system ages, with about 12% of the initial annual energy production expected to be lost after 25 years of system operation. The obtained capacity factor (12.1 %) and the performance ratio (0.75) revealed that the PV system in its current design would be inadequate to match the energy demand profile of Effurun-Warri, Nigeria. Additionally, the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) was obtained as 0.65 cents/kWh for the system, which is about 85% higher than the current price of electrical energy in Southern Nigeria. Moreover, a negative net present value (NPV) was obtained for the plant, all indicating that the cost of investment would not be offset during the lifetime of the system, and the project would therefore not be profitable in its current design.

Multi-criteria modeling and assessment of PV system performance in different climate areas of Iran

Although the use of solar energy for power generation has grown significantly in recent years, due to its location-oriented nature, choosing the best location for the development of a PV system is of great importance. This paper evaluates the performance of a PV system in five different cities of Iran with diverse climatic conditions in order to investigate the effect of weather and climatic conditions on the efficiency and performance of PV panels. Numerous studies on this topic have been conducted in order to find the greatest and most cost-effective geographic location for employing PV systems in various industries. Using a mathematical model, the effect of temperature and radiation on PV system performance has been investigated. Then, by defining various performance indicators, using the SMART method, the studied cities are ranked in a multi-criteria decision-making process. Finally, in order to evaluate the model, its outputs have been validated using System Advisor Model software. According to the research outputs, the city of Yazd has provided the best performance, followed by Isfahan, Bandar Abbas, Tabriz and Tehran. The data show that the amount of energy produced per year and average annual calculated efficiency in the city of Yazd, as the best city, is equal to 8,184.59 (kWh) and 18.24%, respectively. This led to a capacity factor of 23.57 and performance ratio of 0.887 for this city.

Energy storage for photovoltaic power plants: Economic analysis for different ion‐lithium batteries

AbstractEnergy storage has been identified as a strategic solution to the operation management of the electric power system to guarantee the reliability, economic feasibility, and a low carbon footprint. In this sense, this article analyzes the economic feasibility of a storage system using different Li‐ion batteries applied to a real case of the photovoltaic power plant at Alto Rodrigues, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The System Advisor Model software was used to simulate the systems which allowed showing the difference between the revenue obtained from energy sales and the total generation cost. According to the results, the viability of the energy storage system can be achieved in different ways. The first way would be to reduce current investment costs in storage systems. In the second way, the energy sale price is higher than the current sale price. The third and fourth ways are a combination of cost storage reduction and the increase of energy sale price in different annual proportions.

Impact of cooling tower technology on performance and cost-effectiveness of CSP plants

Cooling towers are indispensable components for heat rejection in concentrated solar power (CSP) plants. However, the overall performance of CSP plants relies heavily on the choice of cooling tower technology. This paper aims at assessing the impact of cooling tower technology on CSP plant from performance, economic, and environmental perspectives. To achieve this goal, seven CSP projects worldwide with distinct features were selected, and multiple simulations on System Advisor Model software were performed to evaluate the annual energy production, capacity factor, and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). Moreover, the impact assessment was performed in terms of key metrics, such as discounted payback period (DPP), savings-to-investment ratio (SIR), greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, water-saving, and total costs savings (TCS) including energy, carbon and water costs savings.The results showed that the wet cooling technology achieved the highest performance findings followed by hybrid and dry cooling technologies. The environmental analysis revealed that the wet cooling technology could avoid roughly 7.02% and 2.93% of GHG emissions compared to dry and hybrid cooling ones, respectively; however, it was found that dry and hybrid cooling technologies could be more profitable in arid regions with water scarcity, since they could save on average 93.30% and 69.83% of water, respectively, compared to the wet technology. Furthermore, the economic results showed that wet and hybrid cooling towers exhibit the best cost-effectiveness over dry cooling one as the LCOE was found to be $0.231/0.244 per kWh, and the DPP ranged between 13.41 and 23.46/14.95 and 34.75 years by integrating wet/hybrid technologies in CSP plants. Overall, wet and hybrid cooling technologies yield better TCS and SIR outcomes over dry cooling one. However, with respect to energy conservation, water savings, and GHG emissions savings, hybrid cooling tower could be considered as an optimal technology. This paper is expected to be a guideline for selecting the most cost-effective and eco-friendly cooling technology for future CSP plants, based on key criteria.

Aspen Plus simulation of a low capacity organic Rankine cycle heated by solar energy

In this work, the performance of the organic Rankine cycle (ORC) of 1 kW output power was studied using Aspen Plus software simulation. In order to improve the performance of the ORC, eight organic fluids were tested as working fluid. The operational parameters such as working temperature, pressure and flow rates were also optimized. The results showed that the optimal performance of the ORC was obtained when hexane was used as working fluid with mass flow rate of 36 kg/hr, with working pressure of 11.5 bar and at a temperature of 173 °C. A parabolic trough solar collector was designed using the system advisor model software to provide the required input heat of the power cycle considering only the top five efficient working fluid: hexane, toluene, R123, R11, and R245fa.

Techno-economic assessment and optimization of a solar-assisted industrial post-combustion CO2 capture and utilization plant

This paper studies the techno-economic feasibility of the solar-assisted regeneration process of the largest industrial CO2 removal monoethanolamine-based plant in Iran. The plant incorporating parabolic troughs is modelled using System Advisor Model software and the weather data are derived from the European Commission’s Photovoltaic Geographical Information System. Sensitivity analyses are realized to evaluate the effect of important parameters, i.e., the solar multiple and the hours of storage, and to reveal the optimum case. The studied impacts are linked to the overall net energy generation and the levelized cost of heat (LCOH). The optimum case is found to have a solar multiple of 3.1 and 18-hours of storage, resulting in a solar share of 0.7 and a LCOH of 3.85 (¢/kWh). When compared to the base case (solar multiple of 2 and 6 h of storage), the optimum solution results in a similar LCOH but it achieves the generation of an additional 16,112 MWhth annually. The thermal energy supplied by the solar system leads to an annual reduction in the natural gas consumption of approximately 3.8 million m3 that results in a CO2 emission reduction of 7.1 kton.

Tri-objective techno-economic sizing optimization of Off-grid and On-grid renewable energy systems using Electric system Cascade Extended analysis and system Advisor Model

Renewable energy systems have become more attractive with the increase in energy demand due to demographic growth, industrial development, and conventional sources' cost and their impact on the environment. Finding the most suitable solution to obtain the optimum design of renewable energy systems by considering techno-economic performance is a significant challenge to ensure their efficiency at the lowest cost of energy produced. This paper has developed our Electric System Cascade Extended Analysis with new merits and functionalities to be able to determine the optimum capacities and sizes for different power generation and storage facilities of renewable energy systems in both on-grid and off-grid. The Loss of Power Supply Probability as a system reliability criterion, the Life Cycle Cost and the Levelized Cost of Energy as economic indicators, are implemented together as tri-objective optimization functions into the ESCEA to optimize the sizing results techno-economically. The sizing procedure takes as inputs hourly meteorological data, load profile, and the technical and economic data for the generation and storage units. The algorithm has been demonstrated with a case study on a site located in Oujda city in Morocco, with different electrical energy demands. Validation of the developed methodology is performed by comparing the obtained results with those from the System Advisor Model software. The results from the Electric System Cascade Extended Analysis shows that it successfully identified the optimal configuration with a difference with System Advisor Model of 1.1% in sizing results of CSP plants, 1% for PV systems, 0.9% for wind turbines systems, and a maximum difference of 1.5% in annual produced energy. The economic analysis of the ESCEA sizing results shows that it achieved viable levels cost of energy for all studied on-grid and off-grid renewable energy systems and provided a comprehensive evaluation that help to choose the suitable RES for any site worldwide.

Design and performance analysis of a parabolic trough power plant under the climatological conditions of Tamanrasset, Algeria.

Algeria’s energy demands are tremendously growing, and on the African continent it ranks among the countries with the highest energy consumption. To counter its growing energy demand, the country is progressively adopting renewable energy technologies, although conventional energy technologies still play a central role in its electricity production. The huge solar energy potential in Algeria can be exploited and utilized to meet the country’s growing energy demand with minimal greenhouse gas production. Given that concentrating solar power is viewed as one of the most promising alternatives in the field of solar energy utilization, this study investigates the viability of a 100 MW parabolic trough-based power plant at Tamanrasset, Algeria. The plant was simulated in the System Advisor Model software considering the actual electricity load profile of the targeted location and implementing two different condenser types: evaporative and air-cooled. By comparing the plant’s electricity production to the city’s real load, the plant was in position of supplying about 78% and 60% of the city’s electricity demand during the winter and summer seasons, respectively. The results show that implementation of such CSP plants could play an important role in meeting the energy demand as well as mitigating climate change through greenhouse emissions avoided in electricity generation process.