Performance analysis of a tower solar collector‐aided coal‐fired power generation system

Abstract In this paper, a tower solar collector‐aided coal‐fired power generation ( TSCACPG ) system is proposed and studied in order to save the fossil energy and protect the environment. The integration scheme of tower solar collector and conventional coal‐fired power plant is proposed. Based on the simulation platform TRNSYS , the TSCACPG system model is established and the dynamic performance of the TSCACPG system with the operating mode of coal saving is studied. The TSCACPG system performances of 1 day and 1 year are all discussed by using the DNI data of typical year in Chinese typical city of Dunhuang. Then, the sensitivity analysis of the TSCACPG system is carried out by changing the heliostat field scale (the size of the molten salt tower also changes accordingly). The annual performance of the TSCACPG system is also acquired. In consideration of the economic costs, the heliostat field area with the maximum annual solar‐to‐electric efficiency is selected as the optimal value. The results show that, for the case studied, the optimal heliostat field area is 101,400 m 2 , and the maximum annual solar‐to‐electric efficiency is 16.74%. And under the optimal situation, the standard coal consumption rate of the original coal‐fired power plant is reduced from 301.5 g/ kW h to 294.5 g/ kW h.