Optimal design and integration of solar systems and fossil fuels for sustainable and stable power outlet

Widespread industrial utilization of solar energy is an important goal that requires overcoming several technical challenges. One of the key hurdles is the need to address the temporal fluctuations in incident solar power (e.g., on an hourly basis or seasonally) which lead to variations in the outlet power. This work is aimed at the development of a systematic design procedure providing a stable power outlet while using solar systems. First, the dynamic performance of solar collectors is parametrically modeled. Next, an optimization formulation is developed as the basis for the design procedure which accounts for the integration of solar and fossil energy sources in a power system. The procedure determines the optimal mix of energy forms (solar vs. fossil) to be supplied to the process, the system specifications, and the dynamic operation of the system. The developed procedure includes gathering and generation of relevant solar and climatic data, modeling of the various components of the solar, fossil, and power generation systems, and optimization of several aspects of the hybrid system. A case study is solved to demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of the devised procedure.