Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems in the Mediterranean Kyriazos Alexandros SID: 3302140027 SCHOOL OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Science (MSc) in Energy Systems DECEMBER 2015 THESSALONIKI – GREECE -i- Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems in the Mediterranean Kyriazos Alexandros SID: 3302140027 Supervisor: Prof. Agis Papadopoulos Supervising Dr. Georgios Martinopoulos Committee Members: Dr. Georgios Giannakidis SCHOOL OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Science (MSc) in Energy Systems DECEMBER 2015 THESSALONIKI – GREECE -ii- Abstract This dissertation was written as a part of the MSc in Energy Systems at the International Hellenic University. Its main scope is to produce an assessment of the chances, risks and expected benefits of the concentrating solar power (CSP) technology, with emphasis given to socio-economic and environmental aspects for the Mediterranean region. For this purpose, after providing an overview of the CSP technologies and analyzing the configuration of CSP plants, the socio-economic impact derived from CSP technology and the various environmental impacts were examined. In addition an overview of the CSP market worldwide and the potential implementation of CSP technology in some Mediterranean countries were presented. Consequently, various case studies were analyzed to evaluate impact of aspects like use of land and water, use of hybrid RES systems and also thermal storage applications. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the financial viability of a CSP plant in Mediterranean region under various preconditions. Τhe study and comprehension of such an innovative and complex technology as CSP systems combined with the various aspects affected is a quite demanding with a high level of difficulty process that requires an extensive knowledge in many scientific fields, such as a good knowledge of fundamentals of solar thermal systems but also a good knowledge in fundamentals in investment appraisals. So at this point I would like to express my sincere regards to my supervisor, Prof. Agis Papadopoulos for his contribution and his guidance during the actualization of the present dissertation. Kyriazos Alexandros December 11th, 2015 -iii- Contents ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. III CONTENTS ................................................................................................................... V 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 9 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................ 11 2.1 OVERVIEW OF CSP TECHNOLOGY .................................................................. 11 2.2 CSP CONFIGURATIONS ................................................................................... 13 2.2.1 Parabolic trough collector ................................................................ 14 2.2.2 Solar power tower ............................................................................. 14 2.2.3 Parabolic dish collector .................................................................... 15 2.2.4 Linear Fresnel reflector .................................................................... 16 2.2.5 Concentrated solar thermo-electrics .............................................. 16 2.2.6 Comparison of CSP configurations ................................................ 17 2.3 THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE (TES) ............................................................... 18 2.4 HYBRIDIZATION OF CONCENTRATING SOLAR POWER (CSP) PLANTS WITH FOSSIL FUEL PLANTS ................................................................................................. 20 2.5 WET AND DRY COOLING OPTIONS .................................................................... 22 2.6 SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CSP ................................................................. 23 2.7 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ................................................................................. 27 2.8 OVERVIEW OF THE MARKET ............................................................................. 29 2.9 POTENTIAL IMPLEMENTATION IN MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRIES ...................... 32 3 INVESTMENTS AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT ................................................ 38 3.1 SELECTION AND ANALYSIS OF VARIOUS CASE STUDIES .................................. 38 3.2 EVALUATION OF IMPACT OF VARIOUS ASPECTS ............................................... 55 3.2.1 Use of land ......................................................................................... 55 3.2.2 Use of water ....................................................................................... 58 3.2.3 Hybridization of CSP plants ............................................................. 59 3.2.4 Thermal Energy Storage .................................................................. 60 -v- 3.3 SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT............................................................................... 60 3.4 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ................................................................................ 69 4 ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF THE RESULTS ..................................... 73 4.1 INVESTMENT COST ........................................................................................... 74 4.2 OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE COSTS .......................................................... 77 4.3 DEBT INTEREST RATE ...................................................................................... 80 4.4 DISCOUNT RATE .............................................................................................. 83 4.5 FEED IN TARIFF AND OTHER POLICY ASPECTS ................................................ 85 4.6 STORAGE COSTS ............................................................................................. 88 4.7 FOUR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT SCENARIOS ..................................................... 91 5 CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................... 96 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................... 99 -vi- Tables Table 1: Comparison of CSP technology performance ......................................... 17 Table 2: Data of typical SPT plants in Spain, US ................................................... 39 Table 3: Data of typical PTC plants in Spain, US and Italy ................................... 40 Table 4: Data for typical LFR plants in US and Spain ............................................ 41 Table 5: CSP projects in USA .................................................................................... 44 Table 6: CSP potential in various Mediterranean countries .................................. 47 Table 7: Kuraymat technical data .............................................................................. 51 Table 8: Use of land for the various configurations ................................................ 56 Table 9: Land requirements of CSP plants in the US ............................................ 58 Table 10: CSP LCOE for Mediterranean countries ................................................ 63 Table 11: Parameters of CSP component local manufacturing in Europe ......... 66 Table 12: Costs of Andasol-1 reference plant ......................................................... 67 Table 13: Cost of components that could benefit the local industry if manufactured locally .................................................................................................... 67 Table 14: CSP emissions in Mediterranean counties ............................................ 70 Table 15: CSP land requirements of Mediterranean countries by 2050 ............. 72 Table 16: Results of the CSP plant financial viability indicators for estimated investment cost reduction ........................................................................................... 75 Table 17: Results of the CSP plant financial viability indicators for estimated O&M costs reduction ................................................................................................... 78 Table 18: Results of the CSP plant financial viability indicators for various debt interest rates ................................................................................................................. 81 Table 19: Results of the CSP plant NPV for various discount rates .................... 84 Table 20: Results of the CSP plant financial viability indicators for various values of FiT .................................................................................................................. 86 Table 21: Results of the CSP plant financial viability indicators for estimated storage cost reduction ................................................................................................. 89 Table 22: Results of the CSP plant financial viability indicators for four future development scenarios ............................................................................................... 93 Table 23: Sensitivity of NPV to discount rate in the alternative scenario ............ 95 -vii- Figures Figure 1: NPV sensitivity to Investment Cost ........................................................... 76 Figure 2: After-tax IRR (equity) sensitivity to Investment Cost.............................