Cost benefits from applying advanced heat rejection concepts to a wet/dry-cooled binary geothermal plant
Optimized ammonia heat rejection system designs were carried out for three water allocations equivalent to 9, 20, and 31% of that of a 100% wet-cooled plant. The Holt/Procon design of a 50-MWe binary geothermal plant for the Heber site was used as a design basis. The optimization process took into account the penalties for replacement power, gas turbine capital, and lost capacity due to increased heat rejection temperature, as well as added base plant capacity and fuel to provide fan and pump power to the heat rejection system. Descriptions of the three plant designs are presented. For comparison, a wet tower loop was costed out for a 100% wet-cooled plant using the parameters of the Holt/Procon design. Wet/dry cooling was found to increase the cost of electricity by 28% above that of a 100% wet-cooled plant for all three of the water allocations studied (9, 20, and 31%). The application selected for a preconceptual evaluation of the BCT (binary cooling tower) system was the use of agricultural waste water from the New River, located in California's Imperial Valley, to cool a 50-MWe binary geothermal plant. Technical and cost evaluations at the preconceptual level indicated that performance estimates provided by Tower Systems Incorporated (TSI) were reasonable and that TSI's tower cost, although 2 to 19% lower than PNL estimates, was also reasonable. Electrical cost comparisonswere made among the BCT system, a conventional 100% wet system, and a 9% wet/dry ammonia system, all using agricultural waste water with solar pond disposal. The BCT system cost the least, yielding a cost of electricity only 13% above that of a conventional wet system using high quality water and 14% less than either the conventional 100% wet or the 9% wet/dry ammonia system.
- Research Organization:
- Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs., Richland, WA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 6548857
- Report Number(s):
- PNL-3419
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
COOLING SYSTEMS
OPTIMIZATION
GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANTS
BINARY-FLUID SYSTEMS
COOLING TOWERS
AGRICULTURE
AMMONIA
COST
DESIGN
ECONOMICS
EVAPORATIVE COOLING
PERFORMANCE
WASTE WATER
COOLING
ENERGY SYSTEMS
HYDRIDES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INDUSTRY
LIQUID WASTES
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN HYDRIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POWER PLANTS
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
WASTES
WATER
Geothermal Legacy
150802* - Geothermal Power Plants- Power Plant Systems & Components