Technical Analysis of a Large-Scale Solar Updraft Tower Power Plant

Abstract

This study investigates the possibility of applying a large-scale solar updraft tower power plant in India with local ground conditions as an environmentally friendly and economically viable energy source. A reference model Solar Updraft Tower Power Plant (SUTPP) is constructed to examine the influence of the most prominent plant dimensional parameters, including collector radius (RCollector), tower height (HTower), and tower radius (RTower) with dimensional limits and intervals on the power output of the SUTPP. Udat, Rajasthan, India, is used as a reference location for meteorological conditions to evaluate SUTPP power output equations for a ranging power output, with position coordinates of 27°35′ and 72°43′. Multiple simulations for the objective function are carried out, and the outcomes are compared to the optimized dimensions of each set of plants. The model examines the effect of variation in ambient, plant geometry, and material conditions on power output and analyzes efficiency and power output for optimizing configuration. There exists no definitive approach to determining the proper correlation between the geometrical parameters of a SUTPP with optimized power output. For a fixed power output, the tower radius (RTower) serves as the most influencing dimensional parameter in SUTPP performance. A change in tower height (HTower) has a detrimental impact on SUTPP output and performance. An initial increase in collector radius (RCollector) has a positive influence on SUTPP performance; however, this effect reduces as collector radius (RCollector) increases.