Alistair Bascom
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Guyana, Georgetown, Region 4 (Demerara-Mahaica), Guyana.

DOI https://doi.org/10.33889/PMSL.2026.5.2.021

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Abstract

Renewable energy fosters the green energy transition to keep the global temperature increase below 1.5 ℃. Concentrated solar power (CSP) with thermal energy storage (TES) can reduce emissions, leading to energy independence. A CSP plant in Guyana would lead to economic development and clean energy. CSP technology has not been deployed in Guyana, so this study highlights CSP and TES as a solution for Guyana. The study utilised MATLAB to create the Guyana CSP Potential App as a computational tool. This is to computationally model the CSP and TES system for a Guyana location, which is pertinent before investment. The rationale of a just transition was explored as a criterion for recommending Corriverton over Georgetown as the final location for the CSP plant, although the Georgetown CSP plant would have marginally better energy output than the Corriverton CSP plant. Direct normal irradiance (DNI) and air temperature for Georgetown and Corriverton were obtained from RETScreen. The heliostat was 100,000 m^2. Solar salt was the heat transfer material chosen. The Corriverton DNI (kWh/m^2) has a maximum of 5.68 kWh/m^2 in September, and Corriverton Air Temperature (℃) having a maximum of 27.8 ℃ in October. The Corriverton CSP Energy Output (MWh) has a maximum of 3.5150×10^3 MWh in September, the Corriverton CSP System Efficiency (%) has a maximum of 21.3063 % in January, the Corriverton Thermal Energy Storage (MWh) achieves its highest capacity as 3.1049×10^3 MWh in September, and while Corriverton Thermal Energy Loss (MWh) has a maximum loss of 1.9643×10^3 MWh in September.

Keywords- Concentrated solar power, Energy output, MATLAB, Thermal energy storage, System efficiency.

Citation

Bascom, A. (2026). Simulating the Heat Transfer in a Receiver and Thermal Energy Storage for a Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Plant. Prabha Materials Science Letters, (2), 378-402. https://doi.org/10.33889/PMSL.2026.5.2.021.