Modeling Solar Power Chimney and Comparing its Efficiency in Various Iranian Cities

Solar chimney power plants which use a simple technology to generate electricity are comprised of three main parts which are collector, tower, and turbine. The power plant using chimney effect converts solar radiation into kinetic and, then, electrical energy. Although the initial cost is considerable, the plant has great advantages such as low depreciation and the lack of a need for water; that is why many efforts have been directed to the modeling, designing, and alike about these plants. One important subject in this area which is studied in this article as well is the optimization of plant-location. To this end, we have developed an in-house simulator which models the whole plant at an unsteady state. The simulator was verified by comparing its results with the experienced collected data from Manzanares power plant, built in Spain. The negligible differences between experienced data and simulation results verified the developed simulator. Then the in-house simulator was used to model the performance of that plant for five cities in Iran, (Shiraz, Bushehr, Kerman, Tehran, and Mashhad). Our studies have showed that building such plants in Shiraz, among these cities, will be the most efficient.