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Life Cycle Assessment of a HYSOL Concentrated Solar Power Plant: Analyzing the Effect of Geographic Location

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  • Blanca Corona

    (Department of Chemical and Environmental, Engineering, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales (ETSII), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, c/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, Madrid 28006, Spain)

  • Diego Ruiz

    (Department of Chemical and Environmental, Engineering, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales (ETSII), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, c/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, Madrid 28006, Spain)

  • Guillermo San Miguel

    (Department of Chemical and Environmental, Engineering, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales (ETSII), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, c/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, Madrid 28006, Spain)

Abstract

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technology is developing in order to achieve higher energy efficiency, reduced economic costs, and improved firmness and dispatchability in the generation of power on demand. To this purpose, a research project titled HYSOL has developed a new power plant, consisting of a combined cycle configuration with a 100 MWe steam turbine and an 80 MWe gas-fed turbine with biomethane. Technological developments must be supported by the identification, quantification, and evaluation of the environmental impacts produced. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the environmental performance of a CSP plant based on HYSOL technology using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology while considering different locations. The scenarios investigated include different geographic locations (Spain, Chile, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and South Africa), an alternative modelling procedure for biomethane, and the use of natural gas as an alternative fuel. Results indicate that the geographic location has a significant influence on the environmental profile of the HYSOL CSP plant. The results obtained for the HYSOL configuration located in different countries presented significant differences (between 35% and 43%, depending on the category), especially in climate change and water stress categories. The differences are mainly attributable to the local availability of solar and water resources and composition of the national electricity mix. In addition, HYSOL technology performs significantly better when hybridizing with biomethane instead of natural gas. This evidence is particularly relevant in the climate change category, where biomethane hybridization emits 27.9–45.9 kg CO 2 eq per MWh (depending on the biomethane modelling scenario) and natural gas scenario emits 264 kg CO 2 eq/MWh.

Suggested Citation

  • Blanca Corona & Diego Ruiz & Guillermo San Miguel, 2016. "Life Cycle Assessment of a HYSOL Concentrated Solar Power Plant: Analyzing the Effect of Geographic Location," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-14, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:9:y:2016:i:6:p:413-:d:70924
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. San Miguel, G. & Corona, B., 2014. "Hybridizing concentrated solar power (CSP) with biogas and biomethane as an alternative to natural gas: Analysis of environmental performance using LCA," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 580-587.
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    3. Lamnatou, Chr. & Chemisana, D., 2017. "Concentrating solar systems: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and environmental issues," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 916-932.
    4. Carlos Castro & Iñigo Capellán-Pérez, 2018. "Concentrated Solar Power: Actual Performance and Foreseeable Future in High Penetration Scenarios of Renewable Energies," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 1-20, September.
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    6. Louis, Jean-Nicolas & Allard, Stéphane & Debusschere, Vincent & Mima, Silvana & Tran-Quoc, Tuan & Hadjsaid, Nouredine, 2018. "Environmental impact indicators for the electricity mix and network development planning towards 2050 – A POLES and EUTGRID model," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 618-628.
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    9. Maria Simona Răboacă & Gheorghe Badea & Adrian Enache & Constantin Filote & Gabriel Răsoi & Mihai Rata & Alexandru Lavric & Raluca-Andreea Felseghi, 2019. "Concentrating Solar Power Technologies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-17, March.
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