A Feasibility Analysis of a Solar Power Plant with Direct Steam Generation System in Sonora, Mexico

Power generation using renewable technologies has become a primordial option to satisfy the energy demand all over the world, with solar concentrating technologies widely applied for this purpose. A combination of a parabolic trough collector with direct steam generation has been considered an excellent option for power generation as the economic cost and complexity in the plant are reduced. The thermal evaluation of a solar power plant as well as the PTC in the DSG process is very important in viability and economic analyses. In this sense, as the main objective of this work, a numerical tool for evaluating DSG with PTC technology was developed. The SOLEEC software is a versatile, reliable, accurate, and user-friendly option to thermally evaluate a DSG with PTC technology. The user has the possibility of comparing the thermal behavior of different geometrical dimensions for a PTC and even consider different materials to satisfy the demand of superheated steam by a DSG process. The software has an error of less than 5% when compared with the literature results and was used in this paper to evaluate a power plant in Mexico, showing that the change to DSG proposing different PTC could reduce the solar field by about 35%.

Automated summary

Power generation using renewable technologies, such as solar concentrating technologies, has become a popular option worldwide. The combination of a parabolic trough collector (PTC) with direct steam generation (DSG) has been identified as an excellent choice due to its cost-effectiveness and simplicity. In this study, a numerical tool called SOLEEC software was developed to thermally evaluate the DSG with PTC technology, allowing users to compare different PTC geometrical dimensions and materials for steam generation. The software showed a less than 5% error compared to literature results and was successfully used to evaluate a power plant in Mexico, indicating a potential 35% reduction in the solar field.