Performance Assessment of a Novel Solar and Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Based Multigeneration System for Coastal Areas

A new multigeneration system based on an ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) system equipped with flat plate and PV/T solar collectors, a reverse osmosis (RO) desalination unit to produce fresh water, a single effect absorption chiller, and proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer is proposed and thermodynamically assessed. Both energy and exergy analyses are employed to determine the irreversibilities in each component and assess the system performance. A parametric study is performed to investigate the effects of varying design parameters and operating conditions on the system energy and exergy efficiencies. In addition, an economic assessment of the multigeneration system is performed, and the potential reduction in total cost rate when the system shifts from power generation to multigeneration are investigated.