Performance analysis of local environment effects at different places of Chile in comparison to the Atacama Desert

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) systems offer a technology solution for large-scale electricity production in Chile, especially in the North, where at the Atacama Desert irradiation values up to 3 400 kWh/m²a have been reached. The objective of this study is to analyze how the local conditions of the Atacama Desert will affect the performance of a CSP plant in comparison with other possible Chilean locations. In this study different locations of parabolic trough plants technology plants have been simulated. First, the results of the Atacama Desert have been compared with identically solar plants located at several latitudes in Chile. Then, the effects on the performance of the plant of different variables such as DNI, soiling, and water used were analyzed. Capacity factors CF over 63 % (compared to Spain 45 %) were attained, due to the high irradiation values with same plant configuration. However, soiling is one of the major issues, which needs to be treated especially during plant operation. Taking the scarceness of water into account, an optimized operation strategy needs to be developed.