Economics of Thermal Pollution Control

The increasing use of water for industrial cooling is requiring the electric utility industry to pay more attention to the technical, economic, and environmental factors related to heat discharge from large power plants. The paper shows how once-through vs. recirculation costs are determined, and extends the method to the year 2000. The cost of thermal pollution to downstream cooling water users is also shown. A discussion is included of the use of nuclear power plants with lower thermal efficiencies, future growth of natural draft cooling towers, shifts toward larger plants, site requirement restrictions, and the use of higher condenser temperatures.