OPTIMIZING COOLING POLICY FOR SYSTEM POWER PLANT

A dynamic programminng model has been developed for minimizing the cooling costs of a series of power plants along a tributary discharging into an estuary. Heat production and dissipation equations are utilized. The method of cooling is a once through no recycle system utilizing cooling ponds. The minimal cost policy is subject to several constraints including stream and estuary standards, land availability, budget limitations, and equity based on treatment levels at each power plant. The model has been applied to a hypothetical system using conditions typically found in summer in central Texas. The effect of variation of stream and estuary standards, degree of land availability, and degree of equity on the minimum cost policy are compared. This model can be used by planning and regulatory agencies for the purpose of analyzing the economics of regulatory standards and management policies.