Use of Saline Ground Water for Power Plant Cooling

In recent years, rising populations and regional droughts have caused coal-fired power plants to temporarily curtail or cease production due to lack of available water for cooling.   In addition, concerns about the availability of adequate supplies of cooling water have resulted in cancellation of plans to build much-needed new power plants.  These issues, coupled with concern over the possible impacts of global climate change, have caused industry and community planners to seek alternate sources of water to supplement or replace existing supplies.  The Department of Energy, through the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), is researching ways to reduce the water demands of coal-fired power plants.   As part of that Program, ALL Consulting is developing an internet-based Catalog of Alternative Sources of Cooling Water.  One of the potential alternative sources of cooling water is saline ground water.  Using this water would allow the power industry to turn a largely-un-used water source into a much needed source of water that would benefit electric utilities, communities, and the environment. This paper examines geographic availability of saline aquifers as well as the range of water quality in these aquifers.  The paper also examines the benefits and challenges of using this water as alternative source for cooling water in coal fired power plants.