Techno-economic performance and optimization of a large solar district heating system with pit storage under Tibetan Plateau climate conditions

Qinglu Zeng, Luyao Li, Xie Chen, Zhiyong Tian, Hongzhi Mao, Yongqiang Luo, Chaohui Zhou and Jianhua Fan

Energy, 2025, vol. 315, issue C

Abstract: The Tibet Plateau is one of the regions with the most abundant solar energy in the world. Effectively harnessing solar energy is of significant importance for energy conservation and emission reduction. However, solar energy has a significant mismatch with energy demand, for which a pit for seasonal thermal storage is utilized by the large solar district heating system proposed in this paper to solve the time-discrepancy problem of solar energy utilization. Based on the GenOpt-TRNSYS model, a hybrid optimization algorithm is used to optimize the levelized cost of heat (LCoH)under different solar fractions (SF). The optimal configuration of the system under Tibetan Plateau climate conditions is obtained, with a solar collector field area of 13502 m2 and a pit volume of 119350 m3. The levelized cost of the heat substituted by the solar part (LCoHsolar) and levelized cost of the heat generated by the boilers (LCoHboiler) are compared from two aspects of changing natural gas price and initial investment cost, so as to evaluate the economy of the system comprehensively.

Keywords: Solar district heating system with pit storage; GenOpt-TRNSYS model; Economic analysis; Levelized cost of heat; Life cycle assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:315:y:2025:i:c:s036054422500091x

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.134449

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