Energy cost optimization of Linear Fresnel Reflector (LFR) systems for different regions of installation

Linear Fresnel Reflector (LFR) is a promising Concentrating Solar Thermal Power (CSP) technology due to its simplicity and cost-effectiveness. This paper presents a novel approach to optimizing the Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) for site-specific LFR systems. The approach considers both transverse and longitudinal directions due to annual solar angular variations, and integrates solar ray tracing and a thermal model with a genetic algorithm to simulate and optimize an LFR design using measured solar radiation data. For a standard evacuated tube with a 70mm diameter, the optimal variables were determined to be within the ranges of 8.9-9.2m for receiver height, 18-22 for the number of mirrors, 0.63-0.81m for mirror width and 0.10-0.13m for mirror spacing. The LCOE loss resulting from installing an LFR system optimized for one location onto another specific location is only 0.4%. These results show that the optimized LFR design variables remain relatively consistent across different locations, allowing for the efficient use of one design in multiple locations. The sensitivity analysis reveals that the LCOE is predominantly affected by receiver height and the possibility of employing low mirror spacing in situations where land is scarce or relatively expensive. With 6 hours of thermal energy storage, LCOE savings of up to 20% are identified for recent commercial LFR installations through design optimization. Overall, the study demonstrates that there are still substantial LFR design improvements that can be made to reduce the cost of electricity from an LFR system.