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Merrimack Station AR-1167CALIFORNIAENERGYCOMMISSIONCONSULTANT REPORTComparison of Alternate Cooling Technologies for California Power PlantsEconomic, Environmental and Other TradeoffsFebruary 2002500-02-079FGray Davis, Governor

CALIFORNIAENERGYCOMMISSIONPrepared By:Electric Power Research InstitutePrepared For:California Energy CommissionKelly BirkinshawPIER Program Area LeadMarwan MasriDeputy DirectorTechnology Systems DivisionRobert L. TherkelsenExecutive Director

PIER / EPRI TECHNICAL REPORTComparison of Alternate CoolingTechnologies for California Power PlantsEconomic, Environmental and Other TradeoffsThis report was prepared as the result of work sponsored by theCalifornia Energy Commission. It does not necessarily represent theviews of the Energy Commission, its employees or the State ofCalifornia. The Energy Commission, the State of California, itsemployees, contractors and subcontractors make no warrant,express or implied, and assume no legal liability for the information inthis report; nor does any party represent that the uses of thisinformation will not infringe upon privately owned rights. This reporthas not been approved or disapproved by the California EnergyCommission, nor has the California Energy Commission passedupon the accuracy or adequacy of the information in this report.

Comparison of Alternate CoolingTechnologies for California Power PlantsEconomic, Environmental and Other TradeoffsFinal Report, February 2002CosponsorCalifornia Energy Commission1516 9 th StreetSacramento, CA 95814-5504Project ManagersMatthew S. Layton, Joseph O’HaganEPRI Project ManagerK. ZammitEPRI 3412 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, California 94304 PO Box 10412, Palo Alto, California 94303 USA800.313.3774 650.855.2121 askepri@epri.com www.epri.com

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITIESTHIS DOCUMENT WAS PREPARED BY THE ORGANIZATION(S) NAMED BELOW AS ANACCOUNT OF WORK SPONSORED OR COSPONSORED BY THE ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCHINSTITUTE, INC. (EPRI). NEITHER EPRI, ANY MEMBER OF EPRI, ANY COSPONSOR, THEORGANIZATION(S) BELOW, NOR ANY PERSON ACTING ON BEHALF OF ANY OF THEM:(A) MAKES ANY WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION WHATSOEVER, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, (I)WITH RESPECT TO THE USE OF ANY INFORMATION, APPARATUS, METHOD, PROCESS, ORSIMILAR ITEM DISCLOSED IN THIS DOCUMENT, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESSFOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR (II) THAT SUCH USE DOES NOT INFRINGE ON ORINTERFERE WITH PRIVATELY OWNED RIGHTS, INCLUDING ANY PARTY'S INTELLECTUALPROPERTY, OR (III) THAT THIS DOCUMENT IS SUITABLE TO ANY PARTICULAR USER'SCIRCUMSTANCE; OR(B) ASSUMES RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY WHATSOEVER(INCLUDING ANY CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF EPRI OR ANY EPRI REPRESENTATIVEHAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES) RESULTING FROM YOURSELECTION OR USE OF THIS DOCUMENT OR ANY INFORMATION, APPARATUS, METHOD,PROCESS, OR SIMILAR ITEM DISCLOSED IN THIS DOCUMENT.ORGANIZATION(S) THAT PREPARED THIS DOCUMENTJohn S. MaulbetschCALIFORNIA ENERGY COMMISSION LEGAL NOTICETHIS REPORT WAS PREPARED AS A RESULT OF WORK SPONSORED BY THE CALIFORNIAENERGY COMMISSION (COMMISSION). IT DOES NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWSOF THE COMMISSION, ITS EMPLOYEES, OR THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. THE COMMISSION,THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, ITS EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, AND SUBCONTRACTORSMAKE NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND ASSUME NO LEGAL LIABILITY FOR THEINFORMATION IN THIS REPORT; NOR DOES ANY PARTY REPRESENT THAT THE USE OF THISINFORMATION WILL NOT INFRINGE UPON PRIVATELY OWNED RIGHTS. THIS REPORT HASNOT BEEN APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED BY THE COMMISSION NOR HAS THE COMMISSIONPASSED UPON THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS INFORMATION IN THIS REPORT.ORDERING INFORMATIONRequests for copies of this report should be directed to the EPRI Orders and Conferences, 1355 WillowWay, Suite 278, Concord, CA 94520, (800) 313-3774, press 2 or internally x5379, (925) 609-9169,(925) 609-1310 (fax). Copies of this report may also be downloaded from the California EnergyCommission's website: http://www.energy.ca.gov/reports/Electric Power Research Institute and EPRI are registered service marks of the Electric PowerResearch Institute, Inc. EPRI. ELECTRIFY THE WORLD is a service mark of the Electric PowerResearch Institute, Inc.Copyright 2002 Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

CITATIONSThis report was prepared byJohn S. Maulbetsch90 Lloyden DriveAtherton, CA 94027This report describes research sponsored by EPRI and California Energy Commission.The report is a corporate document that should be cited in the literature in the following manner:Comparison of Alternate Cooling Technologies for California Power Plants: Economic,Environmental, and Other Tradeoffs, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, and California Energy Commission,Sacramento, CA: 2002. Product ID.iii

ABSTRACTThis study defines, explains, and documents the cost, performance, and environmental impacts ofboth wet and dry cooling systems. A survey of the cooling system literature is provided in anannotated bibliography and summarized in the body of the report. Conceptual designs aredeveloped for wet and dry cooling systems as applied to a new, gas-fired, combined-cycle 500MW plant (170 MW produced by the steam turbine) at four sites chosen to be representative ofconditions in California. The initial capital costs range from 2.7 to 4.1 million for wet systemsusing mechanical-draft wet cooling towers with surface steam condensers and from 18 to 47million for dry systems using air-cooled condensers.Cooling system power requirements for dry systems are four to six times those for wet systems.Dry systems, which are limited by the ambient dry bulb temperature, cannot achieve as low aturbine back pressure as wet systems, which are limited by the ambient wet bulb. Therefore, heatrate penalties and capacity limitations are incurred at some sites depending on local meteorology.A methodology is developed and illustrated that accounts for these several components of costand performance penalties in selecting an optimized design for a specific site.A brief review is given of some advanced cooling system technologies currently in development,highlighting an evaporative condenser system with a water-conserving mode that halves theconsumptive water use of a conventional wet system. In addition, current research in the powerplant cooling field is reviewed with particular attention to concepts for enhancing theperformance of dry systems during the peak period (the hottest hours of the year).v

ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThe performance of this study was greatly aided and the quality of its results improved by thecontributions of many people and organizations.From the cooling system vendor community, contributions were made by Ceramic CoolingTower Corporation, Hamon Cooling Towers, GEA Power Cooling Systems, The Marley CoolingTower Company, Graham Corporation, and Niagara Blower, Inc.From the cooling system user community, gratitude is expressed to personnel with Crockett CoGeneration, Calpine, El Dorado Energy, MassPower, and Chinese Station.Useful review comments were provided by K. Bulleit, J. Burns, R. Furnari, G. Innes, W.Micheletti, and, particularly, Prof. Detlev Kröger.Extensive and valuable editorial assistance was provided by Chris Powicki of WEE Info.Continuing discussion throughout the course of the work with Matt Layton and Joe O’Hagan ofthe California Energy Commission and Kent Zammit of EPRI provided invaluable guidance.These acknowledgements should not be interpreted as meaning that all of the participants are incomplete accord with or endorse the results and conclusions of this study. Where differences inopinion or point of view remain, the final report reflects those of the author.vii

CONTENTS1INTRODUCTION. 1-1The Drivers. 1-1Cooling System Options . 1-6Once-Through Systems . 1-6Recirculating Wet Systems . 1-6Dry Systems . 1-6Hybrid Wet-Dry Systems. 1-7Tradeoffs . 1-7Scope of Project. 1-7Organization of Report . 1-10References . 1-112POWER PLANT COOLING SYSTEMS. 2-1Combined-Cycle Plants . 2-1Cooling System Alternatives . 2-2Once-Through Cooling . 2-3Recirculating Wet Cooling. 2-4Mass and Heat Balances . 2-6Evaporation Rate . 2-7Blowdown Rate. 2-8Dry Cooling . 2-9Heat Balance. 2-11Hybrid Wet/Dry Systems. 2-12Nomenclature . 2-17References . 2-18ix

3COOLING TECHNOLOGIES: THE STATE OF THE ART. 3-1Literature Survey. 3-1Wet Cooling . 3-1Dry Cooling . 3-2Hybrid Wet/Dry Cooling . 3-3History of Dry Cooling Technology . 3-4Trends in Dry Cooling Use. 3-6Recent Developments . 3-8Operating Experience. 3-8Crockett Co-Generation. 3-9El Dorado. 3-11Calpine. 3-11MassPower. 3-13Chinese Station . 3-13References . 3-154CASE STUDY SITE SELECTION . 4-1Important Site Characteristics. 4-1Site Meteorology. 4-4Site Elevation. 4-4Water Availability. 4-5Wind Conditions . 4-5Local Environmental Constraints . 4-6Proximity to Other Activities . 4-6Chosen Sites . 4-6References . 4-95COMPARATIVE COST ANALYSES. 5-1Introduction and Guidelines . 5-1Cautions and Limitations . 5-1Methodology . 5-2x

Previous Analyses. 5-4Cost Development. 5-8Recirculating Wet Cooling. 5-9Surface Steam Condenser. 5-9HEI Procedures . 5-10Supplier Quotes . 5-11Comparison with Published Costs . 5-13Wet Cooling Towers. 5-14Wet System Cost Analysis . 5-16Performance Penalties for Wet Systems . 5-23Dry Cooling. 5-24Cost Elements . 5-24Installation/Erection . 5-26Electrical Wiring/Hook-Up. 5-26Auxiliary Cooling . 5-26Additional Items. 5-26Dry System Cost Analysis . 5-27Power Requirements. 5-28Determination of Penalty Costs . 5-30Penalty Evaluation Methodology. 5-31Extension of Penalty Evaluation Procedure to Other Sites . 5-37References . 5-396ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS. 6-1Regulatory Matters. 6-1Types of Cooling System Impacts . 6-2Water Resources . 6-3Dry Cooling . 6-3Hybrid System . 6-4Waste Management (Including Water Discharge) . 6-4Hazardous Materials . 6-5Air Emissions . 6-5Federal Regulations . 6-5xi

State Regulations . 6-6Second-Order Effects . 6-7Noise. 6-7Visual Resources . 6-8Public Health. 6-8Biological Impacts . 6-9Agriculture and Soils . 6-10Summary. 6-10References . 6-107CURRENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT . 7-1Heat Exchanger Design . 7-1Performance Enhancement . 7-2System Design . 7-3Direct-Contact Condensers. 7-3Ammonia Dry Cooling. 7-3Evaporative Condensers. 7-4NWD. 7-4Analytical Methods . 7-4Summary. 7-4References . 7-58EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES . 8-1Hybrid Cooling Systems: Evaporative Condenser . 8-1Comparison to Wet Cooling Tower with Surface Condenser. 8-2Comparison with Dry Cooling. 8-2Water Use Considerations . 8-3Capital Cost Elements. 8-3Case Study Results. 8-5Development of Correlation for Evaporative Condenser Costs . 8-9Unconstrained Water Availability. 8-9Constrained Water Availability . 8-10xii

Power Requirements. 8-13Summary. 8-15References . 8-169SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. 9-1Water Consumption . 9-1Plant Performance . 9-2Operating Power Requirements. 9-2Efficiency Penalties . 9-2Capacity Penalties . 9-3Cost. 9-3Wet Systems . 9-4Dry Systems . 9-4Operations and Maintenance. 9-5Environmental Effects . 9-5Air Emissions. 9-5Noise. 9-6Visual Resources . 9-6Biological Impacts . 9-6Current R&D. 9-6Emerging Technologies . 9-7References . 9-7AANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF COOLING SYSTEM LITERATURE.A-1BEXISTING AND PLANNED DRY AND HYBRID COOLING SYSTEMS .B-1Major Manufacturers and Contact Information .B-1Installations.B-1BDT Engineering: Air-Cooled Turbine Exhaust Steam Condensers, WorldwideProject Experience .B-2Marley: Parallel Path Wet Dry Cooling Towers (Plume Abatement Towers).B-5xiii