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This paper presents a techno-economic assessment of a hybrid solar-geothermal power plant that is modelled taking into account the available geothermal and solar energy resources at the Tendaho-1 (Dubti) geothermal field in Ethiopia. The hybrid power plant combines a single-flash geothermal power plant with a parabolic trough solar thermal plant to increase the energy level of geothermal steam. The geothermal fluid from one of the production wells at the geothermal site and the direct normal solar irradiance prevailing in the area offer the primary sources of energy used in the modelling. A thermodynamic analysis based on the principles of mass and energy conservation and a figure of merit analysis that allows evaluating the energy and economic performance of the hybrid power plant were performed. The technical and economic efficiency assessment was performed by comparing the performances of the hybrid power plant with a power system consisting of stand-alone geothermal and solar power plants. Results of the techno-economic assessment showed that for the same amount of energy inputs, depending on the available thermal energy storage capacity, a hybrid power plant generates up to 10.4% more electricity than a power system of two stand-alone power plants while generating a higher net present value at a lower cost of generation. In addition, the hybrid power plants with and without thermal storage system exhibit an economic figure of merit values of 2.62 and 3.42, i.e. the cost of solar resource per kWh of electricity in the hybrid energy system is reduced by 70.5% and 61.5%, respectively.

An assessment of the energy efficiency of a hybrid solar-geothermal power plant is performed taking into account the geothermal resource of one of the productive well (TD4) and the direct normal irradiance at Tendaho geothermal site in Ethiopia. A thermodynamic model of a single-flash geothermal plant integrated with a parabolic trough concentrated solar power system is developed to estimate the energy production in a hybrid solar-geothermal power plant. In the hybrid power plant, the parabolic trough concentrated solar power system is employed to superheat the geothermal steam in order to gain more energy before it expands in the turbine. Thermodynamic analysis, based on the principles of mass and energy conservation, was performed to assess the efficiency of the hybrid power plant at the given conditions of Tendaho geothermal site. A figure of merit analysis was also employed to evaluate whether a hybrid power plant could produce more power than two stand-alone power plants namely the solar and geothermal power plants that constitute the hybrid power plant. Results showed that the hybrid power plant technically outperformed the two stand-alone power plants. By integrating the two energy resources, the hybrid power plant proved to generate 7158 kW of electricity which is larger than the sum of the two stand-alone power plants (geothermal and solar).