IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v17y2024i2p405-d1318678.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Energy Generation Intensity (EGI) of Solar Updraft Tower (SUT) Power Plants Relative to CSP Plants and PV Power Plants Using the New Energy Simulator “Aladdin”

Author

Listed:
  • Osama A. Marzouk

    (College of Engineering, University of Buraimi, Al Buraimi 512, Oman)

Abstract

The current investigation provides information about solar updraft tower power plants, SUTPPs (also called solar chimney power plants, SCPPs), which form a unique method of solar-powered electricity production through a ducted wind turbine driven by induced airflow as a result of solar heating. The investigation is conducted using numerical modeling via the system-level simulation tool Aladdin (developed and released freely by the Institute for Future Intelligence, IFI) for solar energy systems, wind energy systems, or the built environment. The Aladdin energy simulator is first evaluated here by comparison with published experimental and numerical results corresponding to the historical 50 kW prototype SUTPP that was successfully tested in Manzanares (Spain) between 1982 and 1989. This prototype has a height of about 195 m for the chimney (the updraft tower) and a radius of about 122 m for the solar heat absorber (the solar air collector or the greenhouse). Next, various climate and performance characteristics are investigated and contrasted for nine different locations around the world with a similar latitude of 24°, which is within the sunbelt, assuming that the same Manzanares SUTPP prototype geometry is employed in these locations. These nine locations are Muscat (Oman), Al Jawf (Libya), Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Karachi (Pakistan), Ahmedabad (India), Havana (Cuba), Culiacán (Mexico), Dhaka (Bangladesh), and Baise (China). The energy generation intensity (EGI) for the Manzanares-type solar updraft tower power plant in these nine examined locations was between 0.93 kWh/m 2 per year (in Baise) and 2.28 kWh/m 2 per year (in Muscat). Also, Muscat had the smallest seasonality index (maximum-to-minimum monthly electric output) of 1.90, while Baise had the largest seasonality index of 4.48. It was found that the main limitation of the overall SUTPP energy conversion efficiency is the chimney efficiency (the process of accelerating the air after entering the chimney). This study concludes that solar updraft towers (SUTs) cannot compete with existing mature and modular renewable energy alternatives, particularly photovoltaic (PV) panels, if the aimed use is commercial utility-scale electricity generation. Instead, SUTs may become attractive and achievable if viewed as hybrid-use projects by serving primarily as a large-scale greenhouse area for agricultural applications while secondarily allowing energy harvesting by generating clean (emissions-free) electricity from the incoming solar radiation heat.

Suggested Citation

  • Osama A. Marzouk, 2024. "Energy Generation Intensity (EGI) of Solar Updraft Tower (SUT) Power Plants Relative to CSP Plants and PV Power Plants Using the New Energy Simulator “Aladdin”," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-26, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:2:p:405-:d:1318678
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/2/405/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/2/405/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ghassan F. Smaisim & Azher M. Abed & Ali Shamel & Wenjie Lu, 2022. "Modeling the Thermal Performance for Different Types of Solar Chimney Power Plants," Complexity, Hindawi, vol. 2022, pages 1-10, July.
    2. José Genaro González-Hernández & Rubén Salas-Cabrera, 2021. "Maximum Power Coefficient Analysis in Wind Energy Conversion Systems: Questioning, Findings, and New Perspective," Mathematical Problems in Engineering, Hindawi, vol. 2021, pages 1-7, July.
    3. Wong, L. T. & Chow, W. K., 2001. "Solar radiation model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 191-224, July.
    4. Islam Elsayed & Yoshiki Nishi, 2020. "Emergy and Sustainability Ternary Diagrams of Energy Systems: Application to Solar Updraft Tower," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-16, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Guo, Siyu & Walsh, Timothy Michael & Peters, Marius, 2013. "Vertically mounted bifacial photovoltaic modules: A global analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 447-454.
    2. Anjorin O.F. & Utah E.U & Likita M.S, 2014. "Estimation of Hourly Photo synthetically- Active Radiation (PAR) From Hourly Global Solar Radiation (GSR) In Jos, Nigeria," Asian Review of Environmental and Earth Sciences, Asian Online Journal Publishing Group, vol. 1(2), pages 43-50.
    3. Saranchimeg, Sainbold & Nair, Nirmal K.C., 2021. "A novel framework for integration analysis of large-scale photovoltaic plants into weak grids," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(PA).
    4. Mondol, Jayanta Deb & Yohanis, Yigzaw G. & Norton, Brian, 2008. "Solar radiation modelling for the simulation of photovoltaic systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 1109-1120.
    5. Amani, Madjid & Ghenaiet, Adel, 2020. "Novel hybridization of solar central receiver system with combined cycle power plant," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    6. Khalil, Samy A. & Shaffie, A.M., 2016. "Evaluation of transposition models of solar irradiance over Egypt," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 105-119.
    7. Furlan, Claudia & de Oliveira, Amauri Pereira & Soares, Jacyra & Codato, Georgia & Escobedo, João Francisco, 2012. "The role of clouds in improving the regression model for hourly values of diffuse solar radiation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 240-254.
    8. Das, Aparna & Paul, Saikat Kumar, 2015. "Artificial illumination during daytime in residential buildings: Factors, energy implications and future predictions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 65-85.
    9. El Mghouchi, Y. & Ajzoul, T. & Taoukil, D. & El Bouardi, A., 2016. "The most suitable prediction model of the solar intensity, on horizontal plane, at various weather conditions in a specified location in Morocco," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 84-98.
    10. Hassan, Gasser E. & Youssef, M. Elsayed & Mohamed, Zahraa E. & Ali, Mohamed A. & Hanafy, Ahmed A., 2016. "New Temperature-based Models for Predicting Global Solar Radiation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 437-450.
    11. Alberto Bocca & Luca Bergamasco & Matteo Fasano & Lorenzo Bottaccioli & Eliodoro Chiavazzo & Alberto Macii & Pietro Asinari, 2018. "Multiple-Regression Method for Fast Estimation of Solar Irradiation and Photovoltaic Energy Potentials over Europe and Africa," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-17, December.
    12. Chao-Rong Chen & Unit Three Kartini, 2017. "k-Nearest Neighbor Neural Network Models for Very Short-Term Global Solar Irradiance Forecasting Based on Meteorological Data," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-18, February.
    13. Despotovic, Milan & Nedic, Vladimir & Despotovic, Danijela & Cvetanovic, Slobodan, 2016. "Evaluation of empirical models for predicting monthly mean horizontal diffuse solar radiation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 246-260.
    14. Bandaru, Rohinikumar & C., Muraleedharan & M.V., Pavan Kumar, 2019. "Modelling and dynamic simulation of solar-thermal energy conversion in an unconventional solar thermal water pump," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 292-305.
    15. El Mghouchi, Y. & El Bouardi, A. & Sadouk, A. & Fellak, I. & Ajzoul, T., 2016. "Comparison of three solar radiation models and their validation under all sky conditions – case study: Tetuan city in northern of Morocco," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1432-1444.
    16. Jebaraj, S. & Iniyan, S., 2006. "A review of energy models," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 281-311, August.
    17. Zervas, P.L. & Sarimveis, H. & Palyvos, J.A. & Markatos, N.C.G., 2008. "Prediction of daily global solar irradiance on horizontal surfaces based on neural-network techniques," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(8), pages 1796-1803.
    18. Reikard, Gordon & Hansen, Clifford, 2019. "Forecasting solar irradiance at short horizons: Frequency and time domain models," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 1270-1290.
    19. Tiwari, Sumit & Tiwari, G.N., 2017. "Energy and exergy analysis of a mixed-mode greenhouse-type solar dryer, integrated with partially covered N-PVT air collector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 183-195.
    20. Behar, O. & Sbarbaro, D. & Marzo, A. & Gonzalez, M. Trigo & Vidal, E. Fuentealba & Moran, L., 2020. "Critical analysis and performance comparison of thirty-eight (38) clear-sky direct irradiance models under the climate of Chilean Atacama Desert," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 49-60.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:2:p:405-:d:1318678. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.