Ice Pond Cooling of a Power Plant

The primary objective of the study was to analyze the feasibility of using a large ice water heat sink for power plant cooling and to predict the effect of the relatively cool condenser water, produced by this system, on plant performance. For a chosen hypothetical site, the study has shown that a large ice mass could be produced during winter in northern regions and coupled with a 1000-MW(electric) nuclear power plant to provide year-round cooling water as low as 4.5°C (40°F). When introduced into the plant, this water could increase the thermal efficiency of the particular plant chosen from 34.1 to 35.4%. Although the initial cost of this system is above that of a cooling tower, the additional revenue realized through increased plant efficiency can, over the life of the plant, help to offset this increased cost.