Dry cooling for power plants: incentives, problems, and R and D activities
Projecting the use of dry cooling at steam-electric plants within the next twenty years is fraught with more than the usual amount of uncertainty associated with long-range predictions. Eventually the industry's cooling requirements may exceed the availability of cooling water and require the direct rejection of heat to the atmosphere. However, projecting the physical availability of water and the growth of power generating capacity in various regions is not sufficient to determine the use of dry cooling within a twenty-year time frame. The use will be largely determined by legislative decisions on the use of limited inland water resources and the accessibility of seawater for cooling in coastal areas. These legislative decisions, in turn, will be influenced by the perceived impact of dry cooling upon the cost and conservation of energy. Research and development in progress is focused on reducing the total evaluated cost of dry cooling through reducing the capital cost and/or reducing the cost of providing replacement energy and generating capability. The incentives, problems and research/development activities are reviewed to provide an overview of potential improvements in dry cooling and the impact they may have on future power plant construction.
- Research Organization:
- Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs., Richland, WA (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- EY-76-C-06-1830
- OSTI ID:
- 6389061
- Report Number(s):
- BNWL-SA-6290; CONF-770516-13
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Conference on waste heat management and utilization, Miami Beach, FL, USA, 9 May 1977; Other Information: Portions of document are illegible
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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