Because of the summer heat power plants are struggling to keep the temperature differential they exploit. In France, nuclear plants are allowed to dump hotter water than usual. But there is an alternative to dumping cooling water called Closed cycle cooling. It has become a point of interest and demonstrates the ongoing truggle between the power companies defending their ‘internalitlies’ and society at large trying to include the ‘externatilties’, a tough job in a corruptable environment.
“Twenty-five New York power plants are huge fish-killing machines,” said NNEC Director Kyle Rabin. “The enormous impact power plants have on fish has been widely understood going all the way back to congressional hearings that took place in 1967, and for those same forty-plus years, the power industry has fought every effort to stop the slaughter. While the fishing industry operates under increasing regulation, the power industry will make any claim to avoid changing its ways. Ironically, anyone caught fishing out of season could be fined and lose their license, but the power plants continue to kill billions of fish every year, regardless of season. DEC has a plan to significantly reduce power plant fish kill. We are here today to support DEC in sticking to its position that closed cycle cooling is the best technology available for power plant cooling.”(bron)
Over Closed Cycle Cooling: Bron
Requiring Closed-Cycle Cooling Would Not Have Any Significant Effects on the Price or Supply of New York’s Electricity
The power industry often claims that requiring cooling cells would cause energy shortages and push up electricity prices. In fact, a detailed analysis by McCullough Research shows that such a requirement would, at most, cause two old and inefficient power plants to close, but there is plenty of reserve capacity. Furthermore, the change in electricity prices as a result of requiring cooling cells would be minimal (<1%).