Cooling Systems

Solar power plant operation relies on water for a number of functions, but none is as intensive as the cooling system. The amount of water consumed largely depends on the type of cooling system technology employed: wet, dry, or hybrid.

Applications currently under review by the BLM that propose the use either parabolic trough or power tower technology include:

• Three “wet” cooling systems
• Five “dry” cooling systems

Parabolic trough and power tower technologies use the power of the sun to drive steam turbine generators which require the use of a cooling system to complete the power generation cycle. Dish/engine and photovoltaic systems, on the other hand, generate electricity directly from the sun’s energy and therefore do not require the use of a cooling system during operation. The main source of water consumption for these systems is related to mirror washing.