Dry Cooling in Solar Thermal Power Plants

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance metrics of a solar thermal power plant with dry cooling and further implement a method to increase the cycle efficiency, using passive cooling techniques within the dry cooling cycle. Current methods implementing dry cooled condensation use an air-cooled condenser for heat rejection. While this reduces the water consumption of the plant, it results in performance penalties in the overall plant between 5–10% [1]. Passive cooling methods can be used to alleviate the performance penalties. While passive cooling methods have been studied and used on a small scale, this model explores the possibilities of applying these methods to large-scale solar thermal power plants. Based on the model developed, it was found that underground-cooling techniques can improve the performance of the overall dry cooled solar thermal power plant by up to 3% at peak dry bulb temperatures. This study finds that there is a possibility to apply these passive cooling techniques on a large scale to yield positive results.