In May 2010, the California’s State Water Resources Control Board adopted a final policy governing the use of coastal and estuarine waters for cooling California's 19 coastal power plants. The policy will phase out the use of once-through cooling to protect marine and estuarine life without disrupting the state’s electrical generation and transmission system.
The California policy offers two tracks for power plants to reduce the impacts of once-through cooling systems. “Track 1” requires the use of the best technology available at existing power plants, which is closed-cycle cooling. “Track 2” requires that if an operator of a power plant can prove that converting to closed cycle cooling is not feasible, then the plant must reduce its destruction of marine life to a level comparable with closed cycle cooling.
The California policy also provides an implementation schedule with specific deadlines -- starting in late 2010 and ending in 2024 -- for each of the 19 coastal power plants to be in compliance, .
Entrainment: Takes place when small organisms, such as eggs and larvae, are sucked into a power plant’s cooling system along with the massive withdrawal of cooling waters from a water body.
Impingement: Occurs when larger fish (and other aquatic organisms) are trapped against the screens that filter large debris from the intake structures during cooling water withdrawal.
Once-Through Cooling: Water is drawn into the power plant from a local body of water to absorb heat and is then discharged back into the water body at an elevated temperature.
Closed-Cycle Cooling: In a closed-cycle wet cooling system, cooling water is circulated first through the plant to absorb heat, then through cooling cells to evaporate heat to the atmosphere and condense steam back to liquid to be recirculated through the plant. A closed-cycle dry cooling system uses radiator-type coils to transfer heat to air passing over the coils.
For more information contact:
Kyle Rabin, Director Peter Hanlon, Research and Policy Analyst Tel: 212-726-9161 info@NewEnergyChoices.org
