An Overview of Economic, Legal, and Water Availability Factors Affecting the Demand for Dry and Wet/Dry Cooling for Thermal Power Plants

摘要

It appears likely that on the order of 20 GWe of thermal power plant capacity will utilize wet/dry cooling through the year 2000. The require¬ment could conceivably be as low as 10 GWe or as high as 45 GWe. The amount of totally dry cooling needed is estimated to be small because of its extraordinary high cost relative to other cooling alternatives. The area with the greatest likelihood for utilizing wet/dry cooling is the Southwest, from California to Texas. This area has the greatest physical shortage of water in the country and thus will likely experience the greatest water allocation pressures.nWhere water is available, the optimum economic decision will be to utilize wet cooling. The breakeven point where wet/dry cooling would be selected over totally wet cooling is at a water cost of about $2.00/1000 gal (1977 dollars). This number is only an approximation and depends upon a great many variables and assumptions. Various water sources are available which can provide water at less than this cost, including conveyance and treatment of agricultural and municipal waste water (about $1.10/1000 gal) and outright purchase of irrigated farms to acquire water rights ($0.40 -0.70/1000 gal). Further research on the extent to which these sources are available for cooling seems warranted.