Economic analysis of solar chimney power plants in Northwest China

Solar chimney power plant (SCPP) with a long life span is a promising large-scale solar thermal utilization technology. This paper performs an economic analysis for the conventional solar chimney power plant (CSCPP) and the sloped solar chimney power plant (SSCPP) in Northwest China. Cash flows are influenced by many factors including the investment, the payback period, the inflation rate, and the sale price of solar electricity. The techno-economic analyses of the CSCPPs and SSCPPs are performed taking Lanzhou, China as a case study. The results show that the SCPP investment is influenced by both its configuration and the material price, and the SSCPP is more cost-effective than the CSCPP during the system life span. In addition, the SCPP with large power capacity holds good competitiveness with the conventional fossil fuel combustion plants. The economic evaluation of building SCPPs in Northwest China is of high significance considering the local abundant solar radiation, favorable government policy, and under-developing economics.