Energy, conventional exergy, advanced exergy and economic analysis of a steam injection compressed air energy storage integrated with concentrating solar power

Advanced adiabatic compressed air energy storage (AA-CAES) is a promising large-scale energy storage option, but achieving high power density, efficiency, and carbon-neutral operation is challenging. To address relevant issues, this paper puts forward a steam-injected AA-CAES trigeneration system coupled with concentrating solar power (CSP). This system incorporates a saturator for compressed air humidification and a CSP-driven thermal energy reheating unit, aiming to enhance the working fluid enthalpy and eliminate fossil fuel dependency. A tripartite analytical framework, which combines first/second-law thermodynamics, advanced exergy decomposition, and economic modeling, is employed to comprehensively analyze the novel trigeneration system, with baseline AA-CAES serving as a reference for context. Results, compared with baseline AA-CAES, indicate a 2.9 % increase in round-trip efficiency (62.8 % compared to 59.9 %), a 5.1 % improvement in exergy efficiency (65.0 % compared to 59.9 %), and a 41.43 MW enhancement in power output (175.3 MW compared to 133.87 MW). Advanced exergy analysis identifies 43.2 % unavoidable component-level irreversibility. Moreover, the economic evaluation validates the system's viability. With an installed capacity of 180 MW, the system requires a total investment cost of $117.16 million and achieves a dynamic payback period of 4.7 years, demonstrating substantial economic potential for large-scale energy storage applications.