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Integration of solar and biomass for the production of electricity: Contributions to face the challenge of flexible operation in thermochemical biorefineries

Abstract:

This study presents a techno-economic analysis of concentrated solar power (CSP) plants using parabolic trough collector (PT) and solar tower (ST) technologies with various levels of thermal energy storage (TES) and considering the Seville solar resource. For the selected case study, integration of a biomass backup system has the potential to provide CSP plants with greater flexibility and make them dispatchable. In Southern Europe and Mediterranean countries, solar and biogenic resources are equally important for the transition to a sustainable energy future. For the stand-alone CSP plant, the higher the TES capacity, the greater the capacity factors were for both technologies, with more pronounced growth for ST than for PT. In terms of the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), the increase in TES capacity turns into an increase in LCOE for PT and a reduction for ST, with the latter being 6.86 USD/MWh less in the case of 20 hours of storage whit respect to the base case. The integration of biomass in the CSP plant could optimize the storage system by matching the grid demand and CSP plant generation profiles, making possible to achieving a firm supply with a 100% renewable generation.