The solar chimney power plant (SCPP) is a promising technology for the large-scale utilization of solar energy. Due to the significant difference of weather conditions, the performance of SCPPs varies from one place to another, and thus specific design work is required for different regions. In addition, little effort has been carried out to evaluate the SCPPs both simply and precisely. In view of this, a program based on TRNSYS is built to simulate the performance of SCPPs in this paper. With the program, the major meteorological parameter that influences the SCPP performance is identified. Also, the configuration size design and techno-economic analysis of commercial SCPPs are carried out for locations not included in TRNSYS database. It is found that the SCPP power generation is more relevant to the local solar irradiation than to the ambient temperature. The SCPP with higher generation capacity holds better cost-benefit characteristics. It is believed that the TRNSYS program can be used as a convenient tool for SCPP investigation. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.