Demonstration of beneficial uses of warm water from condensers of electric-generating plants
The report gives results of a project to demonstrate that warmed cooling water from condensers of electric generating plants can effectively and economically heat greenhouses. The 0.2-hectare demonstration greenhouse, at Northern States Power Co.'s Sherburne County (Sherco) Generating Plant, used 29.4 C water to heat both air and soil: finned-tube commercial heat exchangers were used to heat the air; and buried plastic pipes, the soil. Warm water from the Sherco 1 cooling tower was piped over 0.8 km to the greenhouse where it was cooled from 2.7 to 5.6 C before returning to the cooling tower basin. Roses and tomatoes were the principal crops in the 3-year test, although other flowers and vegetables, and conifer seedlings were also grown. The warm water heating system supplied all the greenhouse heating requirements, even at ambient temperatures as low as -40 C. Roses, snapdragons, geraniums, tomatoes, lettuce, and evergreen seedlings were grown successfully. The demonstration proved the concept to be both technically and economically feasible at Sherco, with an apparent saving of $4500/hectare in 1978 dollars over fuel oil heating, plus an annual oil savings of about 500 cu m/hectare. Privately financed commercial greenhouses heated with warm water were built at Sherco in 1977. The commercial greenhouses will expand from 0.48 to almost 1 hectare by late 1980.
- Research Organization:
- Northern States Power Co., Minneapolis, MN (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 5268089
- Report Number(s):
- EPA-600/7-80-099; ON: DE82901981
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
GREENHOUSES
SPACE HEATING
WASTE HEAT UTILIZATION
POWER PLANTS
WASTE HEAT
CONIFERS
DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS
ECONOMICS
FLOWERS
HEAT EXCHANGERS
HEAT RECOVERY
HEATING
POWER GENERATION
SEEDLINGS
SOILS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
TOMATOES
WASTE PRODUCT UTILIZATION
WATER
BUILDINGS
ENERGY
ENERGY RECOVERY
FOOD
HEAT
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
RECOVERY
VEGETABLES
WASTES
320304* - Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization- Industrial & Agricultural Processes- Waste Heat Recovery & Utilization