The following document is the written memory of an engineering final thesis. The aim of this project is to study and simulate the viability of introducing a 50 MW solar power plant in the locality of Barletta, Italy. The thesis is divided in two main parts: The first theoretical one which talks about solar energy and explains the two main processes with which profit can be taken from the sun: photovoltaic energy and thermal energy. It concentrates on the CSP technology to provide the reader with a good background on the subject. In the second part, the 50 MW plant is studied and simulated to arrive to the final design. During the simulation many variables and design parameters are taken into consideration to study their influence in the plant’s performance and to be able to choose the best possible combination in order to take the maximum electric power output from the designed plant. This simulation study is made possible by the GateCycle software. GateCycle is a software of the General Electric company that gives assistance in the performance prediction of thermal power plants, such as, combined cycle plants, fossil boiler plants, combined heat-and-power plants, advanced gas turbines as well as other types of energy systems. In order to obtain accurate results from which to draw coherent conclusions it will be necessary to take into consideration Barletta’s annual weather conditions: Irradiation, wind, temperature and other factors. This information will be extracted from a database.

Outgoing