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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A2: Solar Energy and Photovoltaic Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 April 2023) | Viewed by 11734

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Rodrigo Escobar

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Guest Editor

Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica y Metalúrgica, Escuela de Ingeniería, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago 7820436, Chile
Interests: solar energy; concentrated solar power; renewable energy; thermal systems

Prof. Dr. José Cardemil

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Guest Editor

Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica y Metalúrgica, Escuela de Ingeniería, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago 7820436, Chile
Interests: process integration; solar thermal systems; solar cooling; thermal storage

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Solar photovoltaic-thermal systems combine the strengths of both technologies into systems that produce multiple products, mainly solar heat and electricity, in operation points and within performance ranges that can result in competitive performance. The proper design of solar hybrid systems demands the use of advanced tools for enhancing the performance of each subsystem in configuring the hybrid scheme and managing the inherent thermodynamic compromises that each system design must consider. The challenge is to determine the size, operation point, performance, and control strategy, aiming to configure a cost-effective and competitive configuration. The current research challenges are focused on interdisciplinary, smart, and innovative configurations of hybrid solar energy systems, looking for an important increase of efficiency, reliability, and overall system yield.

We cordially invite you to submit your original contributions to this Special Issue, entitled “Hybrid Photovoltaic/Thermal Systems”. This is a Special Issue of Energies, an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal covered by various databases, including WoS and Scopus.

Sincerely,

Prof. Dr. Rodrigo Escobar
Prof. Dr. José Cardemil
Guest Editors

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Keywords

solar hybrid systems for efficient industrial energy consumption
simulation tools for solar hybrid systems
multi-objective optimization in hybrid systems
environmental assessment of solar hybrid generation
innovations for solar hybrid systems
exergy assessment of solar hybrid systems
business models for solar hybrid systems and energy policy
energy management and control strategies

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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28 pages, 10729 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Modeling and Performance Evaluation of Hybrid Solar Cooling Systems Driven by Photovoltaic and Solar Thermal Collectors—Case Study: Greenhouses of Andalusia

by Andrés Villarruel-Jaramillo, Josué F. Rosales-Pérez, Manuel Pérez-García, José M. Cardemil and Rodrigo Escobar

Energies 2023, 16(13), 4888; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16134888 - 23 Jun 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2027

Abstract

Sustainable greenhouses have gained relevance in recent years due to their potential to reduce the carbon footprint of the agricultural sector by being integrated with renewable systems, contributing to the decarbonization of energy. Although solar technologies tend to be more accessible to cover the system’s energy demands, greenhouses are subject to installation area restrictions, limiting their energy potential. This research evaluates the energy advantages of hybridizing solar thermal collector fields with photovoltaic module fields to cover a greenhouse’s cooling and heating demands. For this purpose, the solar thermal field and the photovoltaic solar system were simulated with TRNSYS and MATLAB, respectively, while a method was developed to simulate the performance of a single-effect absorption chiller that was validated using the temperature measurements of a chiller in operation. The results show that the general method maintains differences between measurements and simulation smaller than

5 %

with set temperatures between 5.5 and 12 degrees Celsius. The hybrid system, with an air-to-water chiller as the main machine and absorption chiller, reached a solar fraction of 0.85 and a fractional energy saving of

83 %

. This represents a

27 %

reduction in area concerning an individual solar thermal system. This research highlights that the solar hybrid configuration reduces fossil energy consumption by improving the global efficiency of energy conversion, thereby reducing the area of the solar field. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Solar Photovoltaic/Thermal Systems)

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26 pages, 1730 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exergy Analysis and Off-Design Modeling of a Solar-Driven Supercritical CO₂ Recompression Brayton Cycle

by Felipe G. Battisti, Carlos F. Klein, Rodrigo A. Escobar and José M. Cardemil

Energies 2023, 16(12), 4755; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16124755 - 16 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1319

Abstract

The latest generation of concentrated solar power (CSP) systems uses supercritical carbon dioxide (s-CO₂) as the working fluid in a high-performance recompression Brayton cycle (RcBC), whose off-design performance under different environmental conditions has yet to be fully explored. This study presents a model developed using the Engineering Equation Solver (EES) and System Advisor Model (SAM) to evaluate the operation of two solar-driven s-CO₂ RcBCs over a year, considering meteorological conditions in northern Chile. Under design conditions, the power plant outputs a net power of 25

M

W

with a first-law efficiency of 48.3%. An exergy analysis reveals that the high-temperature recuperator contributes the most to the exergy destruction under nominal conditions. However, the yearly simulation shows that the gas cooler’s exergy destruction increases at high ambient temperatures, as does the turbine’s during off-design operation. The proposed cycle widens the operational range, offering a higher flexibility and synergistic turndown strategy by throttling the mass flow. The proposed cycle’s seasonal first-law efficiency of 39% outweighs the literature cycle’s 29%. When coupled to a thermal energy storage system, the proposed cycle’s capacity factor could reach 93.45%, compared to the value 76.45% reported for the cycle configuration taken from the literature. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Solar Photovoltaic/Thermal Systems)

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28 pages, 4445 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing the Hybridization of an Existing Geothermal Plant by Coupling a CSP System for Increasing Power Generation

by Yanara Tranamil-Maripe, José M. Cardemil, Rodrigo Escobar, Diego Morata and Cristóbal Sarmiento-Laurel

Energies 2022, 15(6), 1961; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15061961 - 8 Mar 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2528

Abstract

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and geothermal energy systems are outlined as two of the most promising technologies for sustainable and reliable electricity generation. Several studies in the technical literature have pointed out that the hybridization of solar and geothermal energy sources could lead to a reduction of the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of geothermal systems, as well as improving the capacity factor of CSP systems. However, the technical literature shows that the integration of solar thermal collectors does not present a positive impact in all scenarios analyzed. The present study aims to further analyze the competitiveness of the hybridization of solar and geothermal systems under high irradiation conditions such as those observed in the Andean region in northern Chile. The evaluation was carried out by coupling a thermodynamic model in Engineering Equation Solver (EES) with a solar thermal model in the System Advisor Model (SAM). The assessment considers the configuration of an existing geothermal plant, considering the design constraints associated with the actual operating conditions of the plant. The analysis is based on an energy and exergy assessment, allowing us to identify the efficiency of the subsystems introduced for the hybridization and assess the competitiveness of the hybrid schemes by an economic assessment in terms of the LCOE. The results show that the hybrid schemes allow a reduction of the LCOE of a geothermal stand-alone plant by about 10

USD

MWh

, increasing the competitiveness of the geothermal system. However, a large variation on such a reduction is observed depending on the size of the solar field and the storage tank of the solar system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Solar Photovoltaic/Thermal Systems)

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Review

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45 pages, 5510 KiB

Open AccessReview

Hybrid System of Photovoltaic and Solar Thermal Technologies for Industrial Process Heat

by Josué F. Rosales-Pérez, Andrés Villarruel-Jaramillo, José A. Romero-Ramos, Manuel Pérez-García, José M. Cardemil and Rodrigo Escobar

Energies 2023, 16(5), 2220; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16052220 - 24 Feb 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4886

Abstract

Process heating is the activity with the most energy consumption in the industrial sector. Solar heating (SH) systems are a promising alternative to provide renewable thermal energy to industrial processes. However, factors such as high investment costs and area limitations in industrial facilities hinder their utilization; therefore, hybrid systems that combine two different solar thermal or photovoltaic technologies where each technology operates under conditions that allow a higher overall performance than conventional configurations have been proposed. In this review, we discuss the limitations of conventional SH systems and the potential of hybrid configurations to overcome them. First, the current literature about conventional and hybrid systems is presented. Then, the application of common performance indicators to evaluate hybrid configurations is analyzed. Finally, the limitation, advantages, and potential applications of conventional and hybrid systems are discussed. This work shows that conventional systems are the most promising alternatives in low and high-temperature industrial applications. At the same time, in medium and processes, hybrid configurations have great potential to increase the performance of SH systems and help to boost their adoption in the industrial sector. There are few studies about hybrid systems in industrial applications, and further research is required to determine their potential. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Solar Photovoltaic/Thermal Systems)

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