Case Study of a Californian Brewery to Potentially Use Concentrating Solar Power for Renewable Heat Generation

A case study for a proposed concentrating solar power (CSP) integration into an existing Californian brewery is highlighted. Using the System Advisor Model (SAM), the modelled annual thermal yield from the 1 MWth solar field (SF) was approximately 2,636 MWhth. The economics considered the viability of the project where different variables such as the installed SF cost were changed to determine the effect on the Net Present Value (NPV) and payback period. With a 15-year project life, changing the tax rate from 35% to 21% (which occurred in 2018), flips the Base Case from economically viable with an NPV > 0 (i.e. +$9k), to economically unattractive, i.e. with an NPV = -$7k. For the Base Case, without the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), and with a Federal tax rate of 21%, the project's NPV reached $0 (i.e., the project becomes viable), when the installed SF cost reached $146/m². The biggest influences on project viability measured by NPV were the project life, Federal tax rate, and the SF cost. For viability, solar industrial process heat (SIPH) projects, need SF costs of $150 to $200/m² in California.