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<br />031123 <br /> <br />Draft - 9/81 <br /> <br />Wet cooling towers recycle water through a structure where <br />it trickles downward and is cooled through convection and evapo- <br /> <br />ration by natural or mechanical drafts. Although the capital <br /> <br />costs of wet cooling towers are roughly the same as those for <br /> <br />natural or artificial cooling ponds, towers cost considerably <br />. <br /> <br />more to operate annually. <br /> <br />Therefore, some competitive economic <br /> <br />advantage is given to the use of cooling ponds over wet cooling <br /> <br />towers if adequate land can be obtained and other operational <br /> <br />criteria can be met. <br /> <br />Despite the economic advantages of cooling <br /> <br />ponds, however, it Is not clear at this poInt that Colorado util- <br /> <br />ities will be more inclined to use one system rather than the <br /> <br />other because numerous other criteria beyond simple economics <br /> <br />will influence the decisIon. <br /> <br />I <br />~ <br /> <br />A fourth cooling method utilizes dry cooling towers. <br /> <br /> <br />are sealed, closed-loop systems, similar to an automobile radia- <br /> <br />These <br /> <br />tor in which coolant circulates through the system and is cooled <br /> <br />by conduction and convection. Water consumption is essentially <br /> <br />limited to a one-time fillup of the system, which means that con- <br /> <br />siderably iess water is consumed in dry cooling towers than by <br /> <br />wet cooling towers or cooling ponds, although the costs of the <br /> <br />system are substantially greater. <br /> <br />The initial investment may, <br /> <br />indeed, be up to six times larger and operating costs 15 percent <br /> <br />greater due to lower back pressures and the use of energy inten- <br /> <br />sive fans IOld West Regional Commission, 197~, p. 59). <br /> <br />There- <br /> <br />fore, dry cooling towers are unlikely to be utilized in Colorado <br /> <br />during the time frame of this study, except perhaps in the case <br /> <br />of a mine mouth steam-electric power generation plant where fuel <br /> <br />costs are exceptionally low. <br /> <br />3 <br />