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Energies
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Concentrating Solar Power Plants
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Concentrating Solar Power Plants

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A2: Solar Energy and Photovoltaic Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (9 April 2024) | Viewed by 3938

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Minerva Díaz-Heras

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department Applied Mechanics and Projects Engineering, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 02071 Albacete, Spain
Interests: renewable energies; thermal energy storage; fluidized bed; solid particles as HTF
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Jose A. Almendros-Ibanez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
E.T.S. of Industrial Engineers, Department of Applied Mechanics and Project Engineering, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 02071 Albacete, Spain
Interests: concentrated solar power; thermal energy storage; solid particles as heat transfer fluid; beam-down reflector
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Maria Fernandez-Torrijos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
ISE Research Group, Thermal and Fluid Engineering Department, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Interests: concentrated solar power; thermal energy storage; molten salts; heat transfer

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The need for a rapid transition to a new energy model based on the use of renewable energy is undeniable. Among them, solar thermal energy can be crucial in said energy transition. In other words, important efforts in different research lines are necessary in order to improve the efficiency over the conventional concentrated solar power (CSP) plants.

This includes analysing the operational, technical, economic, and environmental aspects of challenges to identify tailored strategies that may be case-specific.

This Special Issue aims to collate experimental/numerical/field scale investigations with novel materials such as heat transfer fluids, new technologies to transfer the solar energy, development CFD simulations, new experimental results inside of concentrated solar energy solutions, and review papers with state-of-the-art findings that can significantly contribute to the community. The Special Issue is open to all contributions related to CSP plants, including (but not limited to) the following:

  • New technologies;
  • New heat transfer fluids;
  • Improvement in the thermal efficiencies in a CSP;
  • State of the art in the thermal energy storage field;
  • New simulations of CSP;
  • Numerical models;
  • Economical viability tests.

Dr. Minerva Díaz-Heras
Prof. Dr. Jose A. Almendros-Ibanez
Dr. Maria Fernandez-Torrijos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • solar radiation
  • thermal energy storage
  • heat transfer fluids
  • concentrated solar power

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 4627 KiB  
Article
Global Methods for Calculating Shading and Blocking Efficiency in Central Receiver Systems
by Guillermo Ortega, Rubén Barbero and Antonio Rovira
Energies 2024, 17(6), 1282; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17061282 - 07 Mar 2024
Viewed by 390
Abstract
This paper presents three new methods for calculating the shading and blocking efficiency in Central Receiver Systems (CRSs). All of them are characterized by the calculation of multiple useful and total reflecting areas without the need to resort to parallel calculation in the [...] Read more.
This paper presents three new methods for calculating the shading and blocking efficiency in Central Receiver Systems (CRSs). All of them are characterized by the calculation of multiple useful and total reflecting areas without the need to resort to parallel calculation in the CPU or GPU, and by low computation times and minimum errors. They are being specially designed for implementation in codes focused on heliostat field design and optimization in CRSs. The proposed methods have been compared against two outstanding “individual” methods (homology and Boolean operations), in addition to a reference case based on the Monte Carlo ray-tracing (MCRT) technique. The results indicate that one of the proposed methods presents reduced error values and high computational speed, even relaxing the restrictions on candidate filtering. At the same error level, the global method is up to 7.80 times faster than the fastest individual method (homology) and up to 194 times faster than the method based on the MCRT technique. The causes of the main errors of each method are also analyzed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Concentrating Solar Power Plants)
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19 pages, 2022 KiB  
Article
Molten Salts Tanks Thermal Energy Storage: Aspects to Consider during Design
by Cristina Prieto, Adrian Blindu, Luisa F. Cabeza, Juan Valverde and Guillermo García
Energies 2024, 17(1), 22; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17010022 - 20 Dec 2023
Viewed by 3116
Abstract
Concentrating solar power plants use sensible thermal energy storage, a mature technology based on molten salts, due to the high storage efficiency (up to 99%). Both parabolic trough collectors and the central receiver system for concentrating solar power technologies use molten salts tanks, [...] Read more.
Concentrating solar power plants use sensible thermal energy storage, a mature technology based on molten salts, due to the high storage efficiency (up to 99%). Both parabolic trough collectors and the central receiver system for concentrating solar power technologies use molten salts tanks, either in direct storage systems or in indirect ones. But even though this is a mature technology, it still shows challenges in its implementation and operation. This paper underscores the critical importance of stringent design criteria for molten salt tanks in thermal storage technology. Focusing on the potential ramifications of design failures, the study explores various dimensions where an inadequate design can lead to severe consequences, even jeopardizing the viability of the entire technology. Key areas discussed include structural integrity, corrosion, thermal shock, thermal expansions, and others. By elucidating the multifaceted risks associated with design shortcomings, this paper aims to emphasize the necessity of thorough reviews and adherence to robust design principles for ensuring the success, safety, and sustainability of thermal storage technology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Concentrating Solar Power Plants)
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