Techno-economic Analysis of Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal Power Plant for Climate Conditions of Pakistan /

Abstract

For economic development energy is the basic requirement while Pakistan is facing severe energy crises. Addressing energy crises by renewable energy technologies is not only environment friendly but it will also decelerate the depletion of fossil fuel resources. Meanwhile Pakistan is the 6th most fortunate country in the world that is receiving highest solar insolation from which around 2.9 million MW electricity can be generated. Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal Power Plant (PTSTPP) is a solar power to electricity conversion technology which is cost effective for large capacity systems, higher solar insolation and large waste land availability while Pakistan has abundant waste land where Direct Normal Irradiance of greater than 7 kWh/m2 is received against the 5 kWh/m2 which is thought for PTSTPP to be economically feasible. This thesis presents the feasibility of 30 MW PTSTPP for the location of Multan using TRNSYS software. The economical and sensitivity analysis is also carried out using RETScreen Software which shows that PTSTPP is a competitive option in electricity market.