The Franklin Institute

ABSTRACT:
This report presents the results of a five-month study on the technical and economic feasibility of augmenting the heating of boiler feedwater in steam-electric power plants by solar energy. The study was confined to investigating the possibility of retrofitting existing oil- or gas-fired steam plants with solar collection systems available now or in the near future. The use of four representative solar collectors was investigated in connection with different methods of single degree of freedom sun-following motions. For all collectors, daily sun-following without seasonal adjustment of tilt was found to be cost-effective.

Solar augmentation of boiler feedwater heating does not constitute a cost-effective method of fossil fuel conservation. Under the most favorable conditions, an investment of $1200 or more is required to save one barrel of oil per year. Even if all potentially suitable power plants were equipped with solar augmentation, the resultant saving in oil and gas represents less than one-quarter of one percent of the current U.S. consumption of these fuels. A national survey of fossil fuel-fired steam-electric plants was conducted as a part of this study, and summary data are presented for each state.… (lisätietoja)