Assessing the potential of hybrid fossil–solar thermal plants for energy policy making: Brayton cycles

This paper proposes a first study in-depth of solar–fossil hybridization from a general perspective. It develops a set of useful parameters for analyzing and comparing hybrid plants, it studies the case of hybridizing Brayton cycles with current solar technologies and shows a tentative extrapolation of the results to integrated combined cycle systems (ISCSS). In particular, three points have been analyzed: the technical requirements for solar technologies to be hybridized with Brayton cycles, the temperatures and pressures at which hybridization would produce maximum power per unit of fossil fuel, and their mapping to current solar technologies and Brayton cycles. Major conclusions are that a hybrid plant works in optimum conditions which are not equal to those of the solar or power blocks considered independently, and that hybridizing at the Brayton cycle of a combined cycle could be energetically advantageous. •We model a generic solar–fossil hybrid Brayton cycle.•We calculate the operating conditions for maximum ratio power/fuel consumption.•Best hybrid plant conditions are not the same as solar or power blocks separately.•We study potential for hybridization with current solar technologies.•Hybridization at the Brayton in a combined cycle may achieve high power/fuel ratio.