Influence of Solar Multiple on Thermal Energy Storage - CSP

Hi Bernardo,

The "actual field thermal output" design variable shown on the Solar Field page depends on the solar field aperture area, which you can control either using Option 1 solar multiple, or Option 2 field aperture on the System Design page.

You might expect the LCOE to decrease as the solar multiple increases at some point where the cost of the larger system outweighs the value of the electricity generated by the system.

Best regards,
Paul.

Hi Bernardo,

It is not possible to use the "actual field thermal output" variable as an input.

SAM is open source, so you could theoretically build your own version of it, and then make modifications, but I am not sure how you would change that to be an input variable.

Here is where the design field thermal output is assigned:

github.com/NREL/ssc/blob/e4c7c189734c3976edc1c7ff424d2c138a67b9f0/ssc/cmod_csp_trough_eqns.cpp#L270

And, here is how it is calculated:

github.com/NREL/ssc/blob/e4c7c189734c3976edc1c7ff424d2c138a67b9f0/ssc/cmod_csp_common_eqns.cpp#L784

For information about the SAM open source project, see:

github.com/NREL/SAM

It is a large complicated project, so I don't recommend trying to build it unless you have a lot of time and are an experienced C++ programmer.

As for the LCOE Calculator, if you specify the installation costs in $/kW, then the cost will scale with the system nameplate capacity. If you use a cash flow financial model like the Single Owner model, then you can specify the installation cost in $/kW of nameplate capacity, $/m2 of aperture area, and $/kWht of storage capacity.

Best regards,
Paul.

Hi Bernardo,

It is not possible to "unlock" the actual field thermal output value to use as input for the parametric simulatoins.

SAM is not designed to model very small parabolic trough systems, which is why you have had so much trouble getting it to work for your analysis. Because SAM's CSP models are designed to model large, utility-scale projects, they are not available with the residential or commercial financial models.

Best regards,
Paul.