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ISSN Online: 2379-1748

7th Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference (TFEC)
SJR: 0.152 SNIP: 0.14 CiteScore™:: 0.5

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May, 15-18, 2022 , Las Vegas, NV, USA

ENERGY AND WATER, NO CARBON: INTEGRATED NUCLEAR POWER AND LARGE-SCALE DESALINATION AT DIABLO CANYON

Get access (open in a dialog) pages 283-286
DOI: 10.1615/TFEC2022.ens.040796

Resumo

California faces intertwined challenges at the nexus of energy, water, and environment, all exacerbated by climate change. The Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant (DCNPP) in California, which provides 15% of the state's carbon-free electrical power, is currently slated to be shut down by 2025. In light of changing regulations, technological advances, and an evolving power and water situation in California, we propose that the decision to shut the plant down be re-evaluated. We have examined the technical feasibility and cost of co-locating a desalination plant with DCNPP, and compared the resulting cost of water to other desalination alternatives. We analyzed plants that would be considered large-scale by today's standards, as well as megascale desalination plants−an order of magnitude larger−considering plant design, siting, intake, outfall, power consumption, and integration with DCNPP. Our results show that integrating desalination with DCNPP will produce water more cheaply than comparable alternatives. The final costs of water, including distribution, are between $0.79 and $1.19 per m3 within a distribution radius of 100 miles from Diablo Canyon, compared to $1.84 per m3 for representative alternatives. Water from a DCNPP-integrated desalination plant would be produced with carbon-free power and would mitigate the risks of drought and climate change. Such a plant would help to sustainably secure California's water and energy supplies through the transition from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy sources.