Techno-economic-sessional assessment of geothermal-driven trilateral flash cycle with daytime radiative cooling

• Novel geothermal-driven trilateral flash cycle assisted with radiative cooling is proposed. • System performance is investigated based on energy, exergy and economic perspectives. • Effects of using various refrigerants and Indian seasonal climate change are evaluated. • Explore techno-economic comparison of radiative condenser with conventional condensers. • Proposed device offers sustainable geothermal power generation to mitigate heat island effect Considering the operational intermittency and environmental issues (urban heat island effect), geothermal-driven power generation assisted with radiative cooling may be a sustainable solution in the future; however, there is a lack of research to date. Hence, this study presents a novel approach involving a geothermal-driven trilateral flash cycle integrated with a passive daytime radiative condenser. This research thoroughly evaluates the system’s energy efficiency, exergy efficiency, economic viability and operational sensitivity using three refrigerants (isopentane, R152a and R1233zd(E)), and adaptability across different seasonal conditions. The proposed system is also compared with traditional air-cooled and water-cooled systems. The proposed system demonstrates a 19% increase in net power generation compared to air-cooled condensers and an 8% increase over water-cooled systems. However, the levelized cost of energy associated with the proposed system is roughly 15% higher than that of air-cooled systems and 19% higher than that of water-cooled systems. The present research highlights the benefits of tailoring the radiative condenser temperature and inlet source temperature, which collectively enhance both energy and exergy efficiencies. Furthermore, the seasonal analysis conducted at three selected geothermal sites indicates that Manikaran exhibited superior performance in January compared to the other locations in terms of energy efficiency and economic viability.