This report summarises the testing of the components required for building commercial solar air turbine systems to increase its efficiency while decreasing its manufacturing , installation and operation costs.
Report extract
The Solar Air Turbine project used an air Brayton Cycle for electricity generation. The technology does not require water for cooling, could be easily hybridised by gas co-firing, and improves the efficiency of small to medium-scale Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) systems to increase the viability of the technology. These unique advantages are expected to differentiate the technology from existing commercial CSP systems.
To commercialise the solar air turbine technology, low-cost and high-precision solar field technology and scalable high-temperature air receivers are required. Sound understanding of cavity receiver performance and reliable modelling capability are additional requirements. In the long term, investigation of coupling high-temperature thermal storage options is beneficial.