Dispatchable solar hybrid power plant
OwnerWilliam M. Conloninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A solar hybrid power plant comprises a combustion turbine generator, a steam power system, a solar thermal system, and an energy storage system. Heat from the solar thermal system, from the energy storage system, or from the solar thermal system and the energy storage system is used to generate steam in the steam power system. Heat from the combustion turbine generator exhaust gas may be used primarily for single phase heating of water or steam in the steam power system. Alternatively, heat from the combustion turbine generator exhaust gas may be used in parallel with the energy storage system and/or the solar thermal system to generate steam, and additionally to super heat steam. Both the combustion turbine generator and the steam power system may generate electricity.
Claims12
A solar hybrid combined cycle electric power plant comprising:
- a solar thermal system that concentrates solar radiation to collect solar energy as heat;
- a thermal energy storage system that stores heat collected by and transferred from the solar thermal system;
- a combustion turbine generator that combusts fuel to generate electricity and produce hot exhaust gases;
- a steam turbine generator that expands superheated steam across a steam turbine to generate electricity;
- a first boiler that produces steam by heating liquid condensate from the steam turbine generator exclusively with heat from the combustion turbine exhaust gases;
- a second boiler that produces steam by heating liquid condensate from the steam turbine generator exclusively with heat from the solar thermal system, from the thermal energy storage system, or from the solar thermal system and the thermal energy storage system;
- and
- a superheater;
- wherein the solar hybrid electric power plant has a first mode of operation in which the superheated steam is produced in the superheater by heating a mixture of steam from the first boiler and steam from the second boiler with heat exclusively from the combustion turbine exhaust gases.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.