Assessment of dispatching scenarios for a multi-tower concentrating solar power plant in a Renewable Energy Community

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants represent a promising solution for flexible and dispatchable power generation, enabling a significant increase in the share of renewable energy in electricity production. However, an effective grid-integrated CSP solution requires careful assessment of plant design and power dispatching to maximize operators' profits while adhering to local regulations. This study introduces a novel methodology for designing and selecting the operational scenarios of a CSP plant to maximize the operator's profits within a national market framework. A case study of a multi-tower CSP system integrated within a Renewable Energy Community (REC) was considered, using real energy demand data and assuming Italian electricity prices and regulations. A numerical model was implemented to assess the CSP plant's performance, and a detailed cost analysis was conducted. The Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) was calculated for fifty-six plant layouts, and the configuration with the lowest LCOE was selected to determine the plant arrangement needed to meet the REC members' power demand of 1 MWe. Fifteen dispatching scenarios were designed, considering tertiary regulation ancillary services, demand following, and simple energy supply. The profit for each scenario was then evaluated, and a comparative analysis was conducted. The results, following the outlined methodology, indicate that the lowest LCOE is 12.42 c€ kWh−1, and that three single-unit CSP plants are required to power the REC members. The multi-tower CSP system enables the plant operator to achieve the highest annual profit of 430 k€ by exclusively providing ancillary services to the electric grid during the evening hours.