Development of a Reference Concept for a Solar Hybrid Combined Cycle Power Plant (SHCC) in the Output Range up to 20 MW

Project Number 327

According to EU decisions, the share of renewables in total energy consumption is to amount to 20 % in 2020. This ambitious goal can only be reached if the share of renewables in total electricity generation will increase to 34 %. This corresponds to a rise of more than 100 % compared to the current share. Utilisation of solar high-temperature process heat can make an important contribution at sites with high solar radiation.

A solar tower plant, the heliostat field, and a specially designed combined gas-steam process (solar hybrid combined cycle - SHCC) is to be developed within the scope of this research project. Solar high-temperature heat is to be connected highly efficiently to the gas turbine process.

Plant operation is to be very flexible in order to run the plant highly efficiently either with solar energy or fossil fuel.

It will be a special feature of the plant that fluctuating solar energy can be compensated by an additional/alternative fossil fuel. Thus, the hybrid tower will supply the desired energy at any time.

The study is to yield a reference concept for a SHCC plant in the output range up to 20 MW which can be analysed in terms of technical and economic feasibility. If the analyses turn out to be successful, this study can be the basis for further development towards a pilot and demonstration plant.

Staff of the VGB Competence Centres "Fossil-fired Power Plants" as well as "Renewables and Distributed Generation" in connection with the Working Panel Gas Turbines and the European Technical Committee Use of Renewables and Distributed Generation guarantee that the operators' perspective is taken into due account.

The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Protection and Reactor Safety (BMU) and will run from March 2009 to August 2010. It will be co-ordinated by Dr. Markus Beukenberg, MAN Turbo AG, with participation of the Institute for Technical Thermodynamics of Germany's National Research Centre for Aeronautics and Space (DLR), the Institute for Energy Engineering of Dresden Technical University and the VGB Competence Centres "Fossil-fired Power Plants" and Renewables and Distributed Generation".