Energy, Vol.168, 409-424, 2019
Prefeasibility techno-economic assessment of a hybrid power plant with photovoltaic, fuel cell and Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES)
This paper presents a hybrid power generation system comprising of Photovoltaic (PV) panels, Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC), Gas Turbine (GT), Thermal Energy Storage (TES), Battery (Bat) and a Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) system. The CAES pressure was considered to be regulated using a water reservoir system located at a suitable height place. The described system was designed to supply the electricity needs of 500 households with peak electricity demand of 500 kW. A set up MCFC/GT with power generation rate of 500 kW was considered in the calculations, and the PV system capacity was considered to be changed from 100 kW to 600 kW. The optimal configuration and operational conditions of the system were conducted based on the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) definition as well as the total annual emission that is occurred by the auxiliary fossil fuel boiler and MCFC systems. The results showed that the overall system efficiency would be increased by about 25%, when the CAES is used and the compressor is switched off. Also, the optimal operational pressure of MCFC was found to be 6 bar for 2000 number of PVs, 1500 kWh of battery storage and CAES capacity of 685 m(3). (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:CAES (compressed air energy system);MCFC (molten carbonate fuel cell);AV (photovoltaic);TES (thermal storage);Fuel based auxiliary system