IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v15y2022i10p3599-d815595.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Dispatch Optimization, System Design and Cost Benefit Analysis of a Nuclear Reactor with Molten Salt Thermal Storage

Author

Listed:
  • Gabriel J. Soto

    (Department of Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA)

  • Ben Lindley

    (Department of Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA)

  • Ty Neises

    (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Thermal Systems Group, 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, CO 80401, USA)

  • Cory Stansbury

    (Westinghouse Electric Company, Lead Fast Reactor Systems Development, 1000 Westinghouse Dr, Cranberry Township, PA 16066, USA)

  • Michael J. Wagner

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA)

Abstract

Variable renewable energy availability has increased the volatility in energy prices in most markets. Nuclear power plants, with a large ratio of capital to variable costs, have historically operated as base load energy suppliers but the need for more flexible operation is increasing. We simulate the techno-economic performance of a 950 MW t nuclear power plant, based on the Westinghouse lead-cooled fast reactor, coupled with molten salt thermal storage as a method for flexible energy dispatch. We use the System Advisor Model to model the nuclear reactor thermal power input and power cycle operating modes. We combine this robust engineering model with a mixed-integer linear program model for optimized dispatch scheduling. We then simulate the coupled nuclear and thermal storage system under different market scenarios with varying price volatility. We find that the coupled plant outperforms the base plant under markets where energy price peaks fluctuate by a factor of two or more about the mean price. We show that a calculated power purchase agreement price for the plant improves by up to 10% when operating under California energy market conditions. Sensitivity analysis on the thermal storage cost shows that the optimal design remains unchanged even when doubling costs.

Suggested Citation

  • Gabriel J. Soto & Ben Lindley & Ty Neises & Cory Stansbury & Michael J. Wagner, 2022. "Dispatch Optimization, System Design and Cost Benefit Analysis of a Nuclear Reactor with Molten Salt Thermal Storage," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-23, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:10:p:3599-:d:815595
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/10/3599/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/10/3599/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kahvecioğlu, Gökçe & Morton, David P. & Wagner, Michael J., 2022. "Dispatch optimization of a concentrating solar power system under uncertain solar irradiance and energy prices," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 326(C).
    2. Brian T. White & Michael J. Wagner & Ty Neises & Cory Stansbury & Ben Lindley, 2021. "Modeling of Combined Lead Fast Reactor and Concentrating Solar Power Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Cycles to Demonstrate Feasibility, Efficiency Gains, and Cost Reductions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-24, November.
    3. Wagner, Michael J. & Newman, Alexandra M. & Hamilton, William T. & Braun, Robert J., 2017. "Optimized dispatch in a first-principles concentrating solar power production model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 959-971.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Alhadhrami, Saeed & Soto, Gabriel J & Lindley, Ben, 2023. "Dispatch analysis of flexible power operation with multi-unit small modular reactors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Abiodun, Kehinde & Hood, Karoline & Cox, John L. & Newman, Alexandra M. & Zolan, Alex J., 2023. "The value of concentrating solar power in ancillary services markets," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).
    2. Hoz, Jordi de la & Martín, Helena & Montalà, Montserrat & Matas, José & Guzman, Ramon, 2018. "Assessing the 2014 retroactive regulatory framework applied to the concentrating solar power systems in Spain," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 1377-1399.
    3. Vasallo, Manuel Jesús & Cojocaru, Emilian Gelu & Gegúndez, Manuel Emilio & Marín, Diego, 2021. "Application of data-based solar field models to optimal generation scheduling in concentrating solar power plants," Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (MATCOM), Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 1130-1149.
    4. Alhadhrami, Saeed & Soto, Gabriel J & Lindley, Ben, 2023. "Dispatch analysis of flexible power operation with multi-unit small modular reactors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    5. Kong, Yanqiang & Wang, Weijia & Yang, Lijun & Du, Xiaoze, 2020. "Energy efficient strategies for anti-freezing of air-cooled heat exchanger," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    6. Calderón, Alejandro & Palacios, Anabel & Barreneche, Camila & Segarra, Mercè & Prieto, Cristina & Rodriguez-Sanchez, Alfonso & Fernández, A. Inés, 2018. "High temperature systems using solid particles as TES and HTF material: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 100-111.
    7. Jesse G. Wales & Alexander J. Zolan & William T. Hamilton & Alexandra M. Newman & Michael J. Wagner, 2023. "Combining simulation and optimization to derive operating policies for a concentrating solar power plant," OR Spectrum: Quantitative Approaches in Management, Springer;Gesellschaft für Operations Research e.V., vol. 45(1), pages 119-150, March.
    8. Ghirardi, Elisa & Brumana, Giovanni & Franchini, Giuseppe & Perdichizzi, Antonio, 2021. "The optimal share of PV and CSP for highly renewable power systems in the GCC region," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 1990-2003.
    9. Li, Xiaoen & Wang, Ningling & Wang, Ligang & Yang, Yongping & Maréchal, François, 2018. "Identification of optimal operating strategy of direct air-cooling condenser for Rankine cycle based power plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 153-166.
    10. Wang, Anming & Liu, Jiping & Zhang, Shunqi & Liu, Ming & Yan, Junjie, 2020. "Steam generation system operation optimization in parabolic trough concentrating solar power plants under cloudy conditions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    11. González-Gómez, P.A. & Gómez-Hernández, J. & Ruiz, C. & Santana, D., 2022. "Can solar tower plants withstand the operational flexibility of combined cycle plants?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    12. McPherson, Madeleine & Mehos, Mark & Denholm, Paul, 2020. "Leveraging concentrating solar power plant dispatchability: A review of the impacts of global market structures and policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    13. Muhammad Moin & Waqas Ahmed & Muhammad Rehan & Muhammad Iqbal & Nasim Ullah & Kamran Zeb & Waqar Uddin, 2022. "A Novel Distributed Consensus-Based Approach to Solve the Economic Dispatch Problem Incorporating the Valve-Point Effect and Solar Energy Sources," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-23, December.
    14. Cruz, N.C. & Salhi, S. & Redondo, J.L. & Álvarez, J.D. & Berenguel, M. & Ortigosa, P.M., 2018. "Hector, a new methodology for continuous and pattern-free heliostat field optimization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 1123-1131.
    15. Ana Carolina do Amaral Burghi & Tobias Hirsch & Robert Pitz-Paal, 2020. "Artificial Learning Dispatch Planning for Flexible Renewable-Energy Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-21, March.
    16. Ana Carolina do Amaral Burghi & Tobias Hirsch & Robert Pitz-Paal, 2020. "Artificial Learning Dispatch Planning with Probabilistic Forecasts: Using Uncertainties as an Asset," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-25, February.
    17. Kahvecioğlu, Gökçe & Morton, David P. & Wagner, Michael J., 2022. "Dispatch optimization of a concentrating solar power system under uncertain solar irradiance and energy prices," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 326(C).
    18. Murphy, C.A. & Schleifer, A. & Eurek, K., 2021. "A taxonomy of systems that combine utility-scale renewable energy and energy storage technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    19. González-Gómez, P.A. & Gómez-Hernández, J. & Briongos, J.V. & Santana, D., 2018. "Transient thermo-mechanical analysis of steam generators for solar tower plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 1051-1068.
    20. Ellingwood, Kevin & Mohammadi, Kasra & Powell, Kody, 2020. "Dynamic optimization and economic evaluation of flexible heat integration in a hybrid concentrated solar power plant," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:10:p:3599-:d:815595. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.