Design and performance analysis of a parabolic trough plant in Algeria

The area under research in this study is Tamanrasset province situated in the Algerian Sahara. System advisor model will be used to simulate the selected configuration of parabolic trough power plant using the available weather data from Meteonorm. The performances of the selected technology under the specific climatological conditions thereafter be evaluated. The assessment of dust effect on the mirrors can only be done with experiment on the ground. Therefore, apart from dust, the climate conditions of the selected region (wind, humidity, ambient temperature, solar irradiation, water availability) are taken into account. The study focused mainly on the performance of the solar field and the selected thermal energy storage technology. After the electricity generated from the power plant was evaluated, Costs of the power plant were approximated in order to determine the levelized cost of electricity generated from the selected configuration. Finally, the environmental impact of the power plant was assessed without taking into account the effect the power plant on the population of the province.