Abstract
The original proposal for a new 1-MWe geothermal power plant at Empire, Nevada was to have an air-cooled condenser with some type of evaporative cooling enhancement in the summertime. Such enhancement is of significant value because the net electric power output of air-cooled plants can drop by 50% or more on hot summer afternoons, and this is a time when electricity is highly valued. NREL used the proposed Empire design as the initial basis for a spreadsheet analysis of various ways to evaporatively cool the air passing through air-cooled condensers. In this latest analysis, we have expanded the previous work by investigating the concept of using a conventional water-cooled condenser in series with, and downstream of, the air-cooled condensers. The results of this analysis have been included as an additional option in the spreadsheet.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 587-591 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| State | Published - 2003 |
| Event | International Collaboration for Geothermal Energy in the Americas - Geothermal Resources Counsil: 2003 Annual Meeting - Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico Duration: 12 Oct 2003 → 15 Oct 2003 |
Conference
| Conference | International Collaboration for Geothermal Energy in the Americas - Geothermal Resources Counsil: 2003 Annual Meeting |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Mexico |
| City | Morelia, Michoacan |
| Period | 12/10/03 → 15/10/03 |
NREL Publication Number
- NREL/CP-550-34528
Keywords
- Air-cooled condenser
- Cooling tower
- Evaporative cooling
- Geothermal
- Power plant
