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A DEMONSTRATION OF BENEFICIAL USES OF WARM WATER FROM CONDENSERS OF ELECTRIC GENERATING PLANTS
Citation:
Boyd, L., G. Ashley, J. Hietala, R. Stansfield, AND T. Tonkinson. A DEMONSTRATION OF BENEFICIAL USES OF WARM WATER FROM CONDENSERS OF ELECTRIC GENERATING PLANTS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/7-80/099.
Description:
The report gives results of a project to demonstrate that warmed cooling water from condensers of electric generating plants can effectively and economically heat greenhouses. The 0.2-hectare demonstration greenhouse, at Northern States Power Co.'s Sherburne County (Sherco) Generating Plant, used 29.4 C water to heat both air and soil: finned-tube commercial heat exchangers were used to heat the air; and buried plastic pipes, the soil. Warm water from the Sherco 1 cooling tower was piped over 0.8 km to the greenhouse where it was cooled from 2.7 to 5.6 C before returning to the cooling tower basin. Roses and tomatoes were the principal crops in the 3-year test, although other flowers and vegetables, and conifer seedlings were also grown. The warm water heating system supplied all the greenhouse heating requirements, even at ambient temperatures as low as -40 C. Roses, snapdragons, geraniums, tomatoes, lettuce, and evergreen seedlings were grown successfully.