Renewable Energy, Vol.150, 1089-1097, 2020
Techno-economic feasibility study of a solar-powered distributed cogeneration system producing power and distillate water: Sensitivity and exergy analysis
To satisfy the increasing demand for energy and potable water, large-scale cogeneration is widely integrated. However, in remote locations, the lack of power system infrastructure limits the integration of large-scale systems. Consequently, a large portion of inhabitants has no access to electricity and the pressure on groundwater resources increases drastically. To address this power and water scarcity, a distributed cogeneration system consisting of a solar-powered micro Gas Turbine and desalination system is considered. Since the integration of solar energy in distributed cogeneration systems is uncertain, we performed a feasibility study. This paper covers the modelling, sensitivity and exergy analysis and 3 desalination systems designs, each making a trade-off between smaller plant size and higher performance. Introducing solar energy in the micro gas turbine results in an increase in electrical efficiency by 3.2% absolute. The proposed designs achieve a levelized cost of water between 1.78$/(m(3)/d) and 1.92$/(m(3)/d), which is comparable with conventional solar-powered desalina-tion plants. Therefore, these designs demonstrate the feasibility of integrating solar energy in distributed cogeneration systems and provide a promising solution towards cost-efficient, renewable-based power and water cogeneration in remote locations. The future work will enhance the economic analysis by including an intermittent solar energy supply. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:Distributed cogeneration;Levelized cost of water;Micro gas turbine;Multi-effect distillation with thermal vapour compression;Sensitivity and exergy analysis