Abstract—Thermal energy storage (TES) for concentrated
solar power (CSP) is gaining popularity because it has the
potential to increase the hours of electricity production from the
CSP technology. In this Study, we conducted a comparative life
cycle assessment (LCA) of two TES technologies (concrete and
molten salt) for Shams-1 CSP plant in United Arab Emirates.
Eco-Indicator 99 was employed to model the environmental
impact per 800MWhe produced. Results obtained show that
concrete TES has a greater environmental impact than molten
salt TES, with fossil fuel being the largest impact contributor in
both cases. A sensitivity analysis in which different scenarios
were considered showed a reduction in environmental impact
when waste recycling and transportation changes are
incorporated. Based on the results obtained, incorporating
molten salt TES in Shams 1 will have a lower environmental
impact than the use of concrete TES.
Index Terms—Concentrated solar power plant, concrete
storage, life cycle assessment, molten salt storage, thermal
energy storage.
J. T. Adeoye, Y. M. Amha, and H. A. Arafat are with the water and
environmental engineering program, Masdar Institute of Science and
Technology, Abu Dhabi, 54224 UAE (e-mail: jadeoye@Masdar.ac.ae,
yamha@masdar.ac.ae, harafat@masdar.ac.ae).
V. H. Poghosyan is with the engineering systems and management
program, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, 54224
UAE (e-mail: vpoghosyan@masdar.ac.ae)
K. Torchyan is with the electrical power engineering program, Masdar
Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, 54224 UAE (e-mail:
ktorchyan@masdar.ac.ae).
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Cite:Jubilee T. Adeoye, Yamrot M. Amha, Vahan H. Poghosyan, Khachatur Torchyan, and Hassan A. Arafat, "Comparative LCA of Two Thermal Energy Storage Systems for Shams1 Concentrated Solar Power Plant: Molten Salt vs. Concrete," Journal of Clean Energy Technologies vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 274-281, 2014.
