Analysis of the Time Step Influence in the Yearly Simulation of Integrated Seawater Multi-Effect Distillation and Parabolic trough Concentrating Solar Thermal Power Plants

The joint demand for power and freshwater is continuously increasing due to population growth, the rise of economic activity, and climate change. Integrated concentrating solar thermal power and desalination (CSP+D) plants may provide a key solution for the pressing freshwater deficit and energy problems in many regions of the world. Simulation tools with an accurate prediction of the yearly electric energy and freshwater production are needed. This paper analyzed the influence of the time step in the annual simulation of a CSP+D plant composed of a seawater multi-effect distillation unit and a parabolic trough concentrating solar thermal power plant, considering the location of Tabernas (Spain). A dynamic simulation tool of this system was developed, implementing the models in Engineering Equation Solver. The annual electricity and water productions obtained for the study case considered were 154 GWh and 3.45 hm(3), respectively, using 5 min time steps, and 94 GWh and 2.1 hm(3), respectively, with 1 h time steps. The results obtained show that a short time step interval (5 min) is recommended when using the detailed CSP model considered, which is prepared for simulation with short time steps. Step times of 1 h lead to excessive errors (about 30% in summer and 100% in winter), which underestimate the actual production.