Method and system integrating solar heat into a regenerative rankine steam cycle

A method of integrating solar heat into a regenerative Rankine cycle for generating electric power, the method comprising the steps of:

• boiling water into steam with a fossil fuel boiler;
• expanding the steam through at least one power generation turbine;
• condensing the expanded steam with at least one condenser to thereby generate condensed water;
• heating the condensed water with a first plurality of serially connected feedwater heaters;
• heating the condensed water with at least a first higher pressure feedwater heater connected in series with the first plurality of serially connected feedwater heaters and disposed downstream of a boiler feed pump;
• feeding steam turbine extraction steam from the turbine to the at least one higher pressure feedwater heater to thereby heat the condensed water through regeneration;
• generating a heated circulating fluid through the use of solar thermal sensible heat in a closed loop, single phase system in which all of the circulating fluid remains in the single phase of a liquid state as it circulates through the closed loop;
• and
• transferring energy from the solar heated fluid to the feedwater, at least one dedicated feedwater heater in series with other feedwater heaters and downstream of the boiler feed pump of a host regenerative Rankine cycle power plant, wherein the transferred solar heat is used to augment or replace steam turbine extraction steam used for heating feedwater in the one or more high pressure feedwater heaters downstream of the boiler feed pump of the host regenerative Rankine cycle power plant.