Proposal and Study of a Pumped Thermal Energy Storage to Improve the Economic Results of a Concentrated Solar Power That Works with a Hybrid Rankine–Brayton Propane Cycle

Antonio Jesús Subires, Antonio Rovira () and Marta Muñoz
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Antonio Jesús Subires: Energy Engineering Department, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), c/ Juan del Rosal, 12, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Antonio Rovira: Energy Engineering Department, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), c/ Juan del Rosal, 12, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Marta Muñoz: Energy Engineering Department, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), c/ Juan del Rosal, 12, 28040 Madrid, Spain

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-31

Abstract: This work proposes a pumped thermal energy storage (PTES) integrated into the power block of a concentrated solar power plant. The power block operates under a Hybrid Rankine–Brayton (HRB) cycle using propane as the working fluid. During PTES charging, some thermal energy is obtained from a dedicated compressor (additional to that of the HRB cycle), which is stored. During discharge, both compressors (HRB and PTES) are off, restoring the consumed energy and resulting in about a 13% increase in nominal power output. The system is also able to store thermal energy that would otherwise be rejected through the condenser if the PTES were turned off, leading to efficiency improvements in some cases. Considering the 2022 Spanish electricity market prices, the proposed PTES integration with 4 h of storage is feasible. The levelized cost of storage is calculated and compared to those of other PTES systems, achieving around a 40% reduction compared with an equivalent PTES Rankine. These results encourage future studies where the proposed PTES could be integrated into other power cycles that include a recompression process.

Keywords: pumped thermal energy storage (PTES); concentrated solar power (CSP); economic analysis; recompression cycle; Brayton cycle; Rankine cycle (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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