LAUSR

Abstract Aiming at deepening the grid penetration of solar energy and reducing the carbon emission, a novel solar-gas combined cycle (SGCC) system using the solar direct steam generation (SDSG) technology is proposed in this study. The design principle and configuration of the proposed SGCC system is provided. The EBSILON code is used to establish the calculation model of the SGCC system. The performance comparison of the SGCC system for five different typical cities of China is carried out and the solar collector field area of the SGCC system is optimized. The results show that the best region in the five cities for the operation of the proposed SGCC system is Yulin City and the solar multiple of 1.25 can lead to the minimum average energy cost of solar utilization sub-system. Effects of eight typical parameters on the performance of the SGCC system are investigated, including the gas turbine load rate, solar DNI, ambient temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, incident angle of sunlight, intake pressure loss and exhaust pressure loss of gas turbine. The results indicate that the SGCC system is greatly influenced by the ambient temperature and the optimal ambient temperature is approximately 10.0 °C.