An integrative theory-model-simulation(TMS)is performed for investigating the performance of the trough solar energy generation system(SEGS)with saturated steam cycle. Based on the solar radiation data in 30 provincial capital cities in China

the running of the whole SEGS is simulated and the yearly performance is evaluated

and the effects of day-and-night

seasons

years and latitude on the system total efficiency are analyzed. The influence of different conventional energy as the supplementary energy source on the SEGS cost is also discussed. The simulation results show that the effective working time of the SEGS and the yearly energy production are the major factors that ought to be taken into account while choosing the place to build a SEGS. In addition

for different cases anthracite and natural gas can be chosen as the conventional energy sources to improve the SEGS performance.