Performance improvement of dry cooled advanced concentrating solar power plants using daytime radiative cooling

摘要

In this study, utilization of daytime radiative cooling to enhance the performance of air-cooled concentrating solar thernial power plants is investigated. Water scarcity and environmental concerns are the driving forces for solar thermal power plants to use dry cooling systems. In order to overcome the energy conversion efficiency penalties associated with using air cooled technologies various supplemental cooling techniques have been proposed. Recent advancements in manufacturing structures with selective radiative properties have made the daytime radiative cooling to the cold outer space practical. In this work, the efficiency improvement of the air-cooled advanced supercritical carbon dioxide power cycles coupled with a radiative cooler is explored.