Concentrated Solar Power (CSP): Almost exclusively built in deserts where water is unavailable. Dry cooling is often a default choice, despite the efficiency penalty.
Types of Power Plants Using Dry Cooling
Concentrated Solar Power (CSP): Almost exclusively built in deserts where water is unavailable. Dry cooling is often a default choice, despite the efficiency penalty.
Natural Gas-Fired Plants: Often used for “peaker” plants in arid regions or for combined-cycle plants where water constraints are a primary concern.
Coal-Fired Plants: Used in major coal regions with water scarcity, such as Inner Mongolia in China and parts of South Africa.
Geothermal Plants: Frequently located in remote, arid areas. Dry cooling allows for development without the need for a large water source.
Nuclear Power: Rarely used due to the massive heat loads and the critical importance of efficiency and reliability. The economic penalty is generally considered too high.
Hybrid Systems: A Compromise
To balance water use and efficiency, some modern plants implement Hybrid Cooling Systems:
The dry cooler handles the base load cooling for most of the year.During peak hot periods, a supplementary wet section or adiabatic pre-cooler is activated. This uses a small amount of water to dramatically boost performance, minimizing the output derate while keeping total water consumption far lower than a full wet system.