Dear Paul and the team,
I have a question regarding the initial temperature difference(ITD) in the SAM CSP cooling system.
For example in Linear Fresnel Direct Steam model, in order to achieve a higher steam temperature at the outlet of the turbine, I increased the ITD in the cooling system (also decreased the rated cycle efficiency and increased the ambient temperature using data from the reference) and kept other parameters as default.
By doing that I was expecting a lower annual power generation since less energy is converted to electricity in the turbine. It was true if I use SAM 2018 version, but in the 2020 version(revision 3) I got an opposite result. The annual electricity generation actually increases from 240 GWh to 255 GWh after I increase the default ITD from 16 to 40 degree C. May I ask if I am correct to expect a lower elec. generation? And may I ask why the results are opposite in two different versions, but I didn't see a major change for CSP Linear Fresnel model from the SAM release note?
Much appreciated for your time and help!
Best regards,
Zhuoran