An accurate estimate of fixed operating costs is essential to determine the financial viability of any proposed project. Although other researchers have reported maintenance costs for large-scale concentrating solar power (CSP) plants in the United States [1 - 2], there is currently little information available specifically for small-scale CSP or solar Industrial Process Heat (IPH) plants. This paper discusses the maintenance of an operating small-scale CSP plant in Louisiana over a four year period. The results are also applicable to a small-scale IPH plant. Maintenance activities and costs are discussed for the collector field, the power block, and the cooling tower. For the collector field, a study of the degradation of mirror reflectance between washings was performed for three different types of reflective polymer thin films (3M 1100, 3M 2020, and Konica Minolta). Overall, the 3M 2020 film provided better reflectivity between washings than the other films. An optimized mirror washing schedule was determined. Optimal mirror washing schedules are very site-dependent, but for this humid subtropical location, the most economical washing schedule was found to be every 114 days, or approximately three times per year. A recommended maintenance plan for small-scale CSP and IPH plants is presented and actual maintenance costs over a four year period are provided. It was found that maintenance costs for small-scale plants are substantially larger than for large-scale plants, and that maintenance costs for small-scale IPH plants are much lower than for small-scale CSP plants, making IPH applications significantly more attractive. The average annual maintenance cost for a small-scale CSP plant was found to be approximately $457/kWe, or $0.27/kWhe. For a small-scale IPH plant the costs were $3.72/m2, $7.81/kWt, and $0.005/kWht.
| Published in | International Journal of Sustainable and Green Energy (Volume 6, Issue 6) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijrse.20170606.12 |
| Page(s) | 104-111 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Solar Energy, Concentrating Solar Power, CSP, Maintenance Costs, O&M, Soiling
| [1] | Cohen, G., Kearney, D., & Kolb, G. (1999), “Final Report on the Operation and Maintenance Improvement Program for Concentrating Solar Power Plants,” Report SAND99-1290. Sandia National Laboratories. Albuquerque, New Mexico. June 1999. Retrieved December 14, 2017, from https://www.osti.gov/scitech/servlets/purl/8378. |
| [2] | Sargent & Lundy. (2003), “Assessment of Parabolic Trough and Power Tower Solar Technology Cost and Performance Forecasts,” National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Golden, Colorado. Retrieved December 14, 2017, from https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy04osti/34440.pdf. |
| [3] | Chen, D. T., Ph, D., Reynolds, G., Curtis, G., & Hackbarth, D. (2012), “Next Generation Parabolic Trough Solar Collectors for CSP,” ASME 2012 6th International Conference on Energy Sustainability, Parts A and B. San Diego, California, July 23 – 26, 2012. pp 631–635. |
| [4] | Sun Shot Initiative. (2017), “Concentrating Solar Power,” US Department of Energy. Retrieved October 17, 2017, from https://energy.gov/eere/solar/goals-solar-energy-technologies-office. |
| [5] | Charles, R. P., Davis, K. W., & Smith, J. L. (2005), “Assessment of Concentrating Solar Power Technology Cost and Performance Forecasts,” Electric Power 2005, pp. 1–25. Retrieved December 12, 2017, from http://www.desertec-uk.org.uk/reports/sargent_lundy_2005.pdf. |
| [6] | Zipp, K. (2013), “What Is A Solar Operations And Maintenance Plan?” Retrieved September 21, 2017, from https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2013/03/what-is-a-solar-operations-and-maintenance-plan/. |
| [7] | Kostok, K. (2014), “Implementing a Successful O & M Strategy for Solar PV,” White paper. Alectric USA, Miami, Florida. Retrieved December 12, 2017, from http://www.alectris.com/library/Alectris%20White%20Paper%20-%20Implementing%20a%20Successful%20OM%20Strategy%20for%20Solar%20PV.pdf. |
| [8] | Karim, M., Naamane, S., Delord, C., & Bennouna, A. (2015), “Study of the Surface Damage of Glass Reflectors Used in Concentrated Solar Power Plants,” Energy Procedia, 69, 106–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2015.03.013. |
| [9] | Pernick, R., & Wilder, C. (2008), “Utility Solar (USA) Study Reaching Ten Percent Solar By 2025,” Co-op America Foundation. Washington, DC. July 2008. Retrieved December 12, 2017, from https://community-wealth.org/content/utility-solar-assessment-usa-study-reaching-ten-percent-solar-2025. |
| [10] | Xu, X., Vignarooban, K., Xu, B., Hsu, K., & Kannan, A. M. (2016), “Prospects and problems of concentrating solar power technologies for power generation in the desert regions,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 53, 1106–1131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.09.015. |
| [11] | Raush, J., Chambers, T., Russo, B. 2013, “Demonstration of Pilot Scale Large Aperture Parabolic Trough Organic Rankine Cycle Solar Thermal Power Plant in Louisiana,” Journal of Power and Energy Engineering, Vol. 1, No. 7, pp. 29 – 39. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jpee.2013.17006. |
| [12] | Chambers, T. L., Raush, J. R., Massiha, G. H., 2013, “Pilot Solar Thermal Power Plant Station in Southwest Louisiana,” International Journal of Applied Power Engineering (IJAPE), Vol. 2, No. 1, April 2013, pp. 31 – 40. ISSN: 2252-8792. Available at: http://www.iaesjournal.com/online/index.php/IJAPE/article/view/1941/0. |
| [13] | Chambers, T. L., Raush, J. R., Russo, B., 2014, “Installation and Operation of Parabolic Trough Organic Cycle Solar Thermal Power Plant in South Louisiana,” Energy Procedia, Vol. 49, 2014, pp. 1107 – 1116. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876610214005748. |
| [14] | Raush, J. R., Chambers, T. L., Russo, B., Crump, K., 2016, “Assessment of Local Solar Resource Measurement and Predictions in South Louisiana,” Energy, Sustainability and Society (2016) 6:18, DOI 10.1186/s13705-016-0083-y, Available at: http://rdcu.be/um5E. |
| [15] | Raush, J., Chambers, T., 2014, “Initial Field Testing of a Concentrating Solar Photovoltaic (CSPV) Thermal Hybrid Solar Energy Generator Utilizing Large Aperture Parabolic Trough and Spectrum Selective Mirrors,” International Journal of Sustainable and Green Energy, Vol. 3, No. 6, pp. 123 – 131, 2014. Available at: http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/journal/paperinfo.aspx?journalid=169&doi=10.11648/j.ijrse.20140306.12. |
| [16] | Mejia, F. A., & Kleissl, J. (2013), “Soiling losses for solar photovoltaic systems in California,” Solar Energy, 95, 357–363. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2013.06.028. |
| [17] | Fernández-García, A., Álvarez-Rodrigo, L., Martínez-Arcos, L., Aguiar, R., & Márquez-Payés, J. M. (2013). “Study of different cleaning methods for solar reflectors used in CSP plants,” Energy Procedia, 49, 80–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2014.03.009. |
| [18] | Sansom, C., Fernandez-Garcia, A., Sutter, F., Almond, H., & King, P. (2016). Contact cleaning of polymer film solar reflectors,” In AIP Conference Proceedings (Vol. 1734, pp. 20022-1-20022–8). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4949046. |
| [19] | Gossamer Space Frames and 3M. (2012), “Large Aperture Trough (LAT) 73 engineered by Gossamer Space Frames and 3M,” 3M Corporation, St. Paul, Minnesota. Retrieved December 14, 2017 from http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/813507O/large-aperture-trough-lat-73.pdf?fn=GossamerLargeApertureTrough_LAT73_DMR_9802425.pdf. |
| [20] | Meyen, S., Montecchi, M., Kennedy, C., & Zhu, G., Gray, M., Crawford, J., Heimer, S., Platzer, W., Heimsath, A., O’Neill, M., Ziegler, S., Brandle, S., Fernandez, A. (2013), “Parameters and method to evaluate the solar reflectance properties of reflector materials for concentrating solar power technology,” Solar PACES Guidelines. Retrieved December 14, 2017 from http://elib.dlr.de/84546/1/201306_SolarPACES-Reflectance-Guidelines-V2_5.pdf. |
| [21] | Bergeron, K. D., & Freese, J. M. (1981), “Cleaning Strategies for Parabolic Trough Solar Collector Fields; Guidelines for Decisions,” Sandia National Laboratories, Alburquerque, new Mexico. Retrieved December 14, 2017 from https://www.osti.gov/scitech/servlets/purl/6376410. |
| [22] | U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). (2017). Electric Power Monthly: with data for July 2017. U.S. Department of Energy. https://doi.org/10.2172/123200. |
| [23] | Electra Therm. (2016), “Installation and Operations Manual,” Available from Electra Therm Corporation, Reno, Nevada. |
| [24] | SPX Corporation. (2016), “Trouble-Free Hvac Cooling Towers: A Maintenance Guide,” SPX Cooling Technologies, Inc., Overland Park, KS. Retrieved December 14, 2017 from http://spxcooling.com/pdf/Cooling-Tower.pdf. |
| [25] | Ezeanya, Kelvin Emeka, “System Advisor Model (SAM) Simulation Modeling of a Concentrating Solar Thermal Power Plant, with Comparison to Actual Performance Data,” University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Master’s Thesis, Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, December, 2017. |
| [26] | NREL System Advisor Model (SAM), available at: https://sam.nrel.gov/. |
| [27] | Eaton, J. H. (2016), “Operation and Maintenance Manual Large Aperture Trough System – LAT73,” Available from Gossamer Space Frames, Laguna Hills, California. |
APA Style
Kenneth August Ritter III, Matthew Joseph Prilliman, Terrence Lynn Chambers, Jonathan Richard Raush. (2018). Maintenance of a Small-Scale Parabolic Trough Concentrating Solar Power Plant in Louisiana. International Journal of Sustainable and Green Energy, 6(6), 104-111. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijrse.20170606.12
ACS Style
Kenneth August Ritter III; Matthew Joseph Prilliman; Terrence Lynn Chambers; Jonathan Richard Raush. Maintenance of a Small-Scale Parabolic Trough Concentrating Solar Power Plant in Louisiana. Int. J. Sustain. Green Energy 2018, 6(6), 104-111. doi: 10.11648/j.ijrse.20170606.12
Share This Article
Twitter
Linked In
Facebook
Copy
Download@article{10.11648/j.ijrse.20170606.12,
author = {Kenneth August Ritter III and Matthew Joseph Prilliman and Terrence Lynn Chambers and Jonathan Richard Raush},
title = {Maintenance of a Small-Scale Parabolic Trough Concentrating Solar Power Plant in Louisiana},
journal = {International Journal of Sustainable and Green Energy},
volume = {6},
number = {6},
pages = {104-111},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijrse.20170606.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijrse.20170606.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijrse.20170606.12},
abstract = {An accurate estimate of fixed operating costs is essential to determine the financial viability of any proposed project. Although other researchers have reported maintenance costs for large-scale concentrating solar power (CSP) plants in the United States [1 - 2], there is currently little information available specifically for small-scale CSP or solar Industrial Process Heat (IPH) plants. This paper discusses the maintenance of an operating small-scale CSP plant in Louisiana over a four year period. The results are also applicable to a small-scale IPH plant. Maintenance activities and costs are discussed for the collector field, the power block, and the cooling tower. For the collector field, a study of the degradation of mirror reflectance between washings was performed for three different types of reflective polymer thin films (3M 1100, 3M 2020, and Konica Minolta). Overall, the 3M 2020 film provided better reflectivity between washings than the other films. An optimized mirror washing schedule was determined. Optimal mirror washing schedules are very site-dependent, but for this humid subtropical location, the most economical washing schedule was found to be every 114 days, or approximately three times per year. A recommended maintenance plan for small-scale CSP and IPH plants is presented and actual maintenance costs over a four year period are provided. It was found that maintenance costs for small-scale plants are substantially larger than for large-scale plants, and that maintenance costs for small-scale IPH plants are much lower than for small-scale CSP plants, making IPH applications significantly more attractive. The average annual maintenance cost for a small-scale CSP plant was found to be approximately $457/kWe, or $0.27/kWhe. For a small-scale IPH plant the costs were $3.72/m2, $7.81/kWt, and $0.005/kWht.},
year = {2018}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Maintenance of a Small-Scale Parabolic Trough Concentrating Solar Power Plant in Louisiana AU - Kenneth August Ritter III AU - Matthew Joseph Prilliman AU - Terrence Lynn Chambers AU - Jonathan Richard Raush Y1 - 2018/01/16 PY - 2018 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijrse.20170606.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ijrse.20170606.12 T2 - International Journal of Sustainable and Green Energy JF - International Journal of Sustainable and Green Energy JO - International Journal of Sustainable and Green Energy SP - 104 EP - 111 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2575-1549 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijrse.20170606.12 AB - An accurate estimate of fixed operating costs is essential to determine the financial viability of any proposed project. Although other researchers have reported maintenance costs for large-scale concentrating solar power (CSP) plants in the United States [1 - 2], there is currently little information available specifically for small-scale CSP or solar Industrial Process Heat (IPH) plants. This paper discusses the maintenance of an operating small-scale CSP plant in Louisiana over a four year period. The results are also applicable to a small-scale IPH plant. Maintenance activities and costs are discussed for the collector field, the power block, and the cooling tower. For the collector field, a study of the degradation of mirror reflectance between washings was performed for three different types of reflective polymer thin films (3M 1100, 3M 2020, and Konica Minolta). Overall, the 3M 2020 film provided better reflectivity between washings than the other films. An optimized mirror washing schedule was determined. Optimal mirror washing schedules are very site-dependent, but for this humid subtropical location, the most economical washing schedule was found to be every 114 days, or approximately three times per year. A recommended maintenance plan for small-scale CSP and IPH plants is presented and actual maintenance costs over a four year period are provided. It was found that maintenance costs for small-scale plants are substantially larger than for large-scale plants, and that maintenance costs for small-scale IPH plants are much lower than for small-scale CSP plants, making IPH applications significantly more attractive. The average annual maintenance cost for a small-scale CSP plant was found to be approximately $457/kWe, or $0.27/kWhe. For a small-scale IPH plant the costs were $3.72/m2, $7.81/kWt, and $0.005/kWht. VL - 6 IS - 6 ER -
Email: