The semi-transparent photovoltaic (STPV) module is an emerging technology to harness the solar energy in the building. Nowadays, buildings are turning from energy consumers to energy producers due to the integration of the STPV module on the building envelopes and facades. In this research, the STPV module was integrated on the rooftop window of the experimental room at Kovilpatti (9°10′0″ N, 77°52′0″ E), Tamil Nadu, India. The performance of the STPV modules varies with respect to the geographical location, incident solar radiation, and surface temperature of the module. The surface temperature of the STPV module was regulated by the introduction of the mixture of graphene oxide and sodium sulphate decahydrate (Na2SO4·10H2O). The various concentration of the graphene oxide was mixed together with the Na2SO4·10H2O to enhance the thermal conductivity. The thermal conductivity of the mixture 0.3 concentration was found to be optimum from the analysis. The instantaneous peak temperature of the semi-transparent photovoltaic phase change material (STPV-PCM) module was reduced to 9 °C during summer compared to the reference STPV. At the same time, the energy conversion efficiency was increased by up to 9.4% compared to the conventional STPV module. Due to the incorporation of the graphene oxide and Na2SO4·10H2O, the daily output power production of the STPV module was improved by 12.16%.
China intends to develop its renewable energy sector in order to cut down on its pollution levels. Concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies are expected to play a key role in this agenda. This study evaluated the technical and economic performance of a 100 MW solar tower CSP in Tibet, China, under different heat transfer fluids (HTF), i.e., Salt (60% NaNO3 40% KNO3) or HTF A, and Salt (46.5% LiF 11.5% NaF 42% KF) or HTF B under two different power cycles, namely supercritical CO2 and Rankine. Results from the study suggest that the Rankine power cycle with HTF A and B recorded capacity factors (CF) of 39% and 40.3%, respectively. The sCO2 power cycle also recorded CFs of 41% and 39.4% for HTF A and HTF B, respectively. A total of 359 GWh of energy was generated by the sCO2 system with HTF B, whereas the sCO2 system with HTF A generated a total of 345 GWh in the first year. The Rankine system with HTF A generated a total of 341 GWh, while the system with B as its HTF produced a total of 353 GWh of electricity in year one. Electricity to grid mainly occurred between 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. throughout the year. According to the results, the highest levelized cost of energy (LCOE) (real) of 0.1668 USD/kWh was recorded under the Rankine cycle with HTF A. The lowest LCOE (real) of 0.1586 USD/kWh was obtained under the sCO2 cycle with HTF B. In general, all scenarios were economically viable at the study area; however, the sCO2 proved to be more economically feasible according to the simulated results.
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