Thermoeconomic analysis of a hybrid cogeneration plant with use of near-surface geothermal sources in Turkey

In this study, thermodynamic and thermoeconomic analyses of systems that produce electricity and heat through the use and storage of solar energy and near-surface geothermal sources are carried out. Three different configurations, which are the organic Rankine cycle (ORC), cogeneration system (CGN) and hybrid system (HYB), are coupled to the parabolic trough collector (PTC) system. The systems are named PTC-ORC, PTC-CGN and PTC-HYB are conducted. The reference system called PTC-ORC only produces electrical energy with parabolic trough collectors and it does not have a thermal energy storage system, whereas in PTC-CGN, in addition to the cogeneration of electricity and heat, thermal energy storage is also available. Finally, thermodynamic and economic analyses are conducted in the PTC-HYB with the assistance of near-surface geothermal energy, which is widely available in Turkey. In this study, the actual data of Ankara Kızılcahamam near-surface geothermal fields are taken as the heat source for the hybrid system. These facilities, each producing 1 MW of electricity, are first optimized with the help of parametric studies, and exergoeconomic analysis is performed with respect to optimum thermal conditions. The electricity production costs of PTC-ORC, PTC-CGN and PTC-HYB are found to be 0.257 $/kWh, 0.448 $/kWh and 0.401 $/kWh, respectively. The study demonstrates that thermal energy storage brings extra costs, while near-surface geothermal sources may help decrease energy costs from renewables.