Trends and challenges toward efficient water management in nuclear power plants

Nuclear power plants (NPPs) consume large amounts of water varying between 20% and 83% more than coal-fired plants of the same capacity. Water scarcity could limit the possibility for deployment of nuclear power plants in some areas. This translates to a huge incentive to enhance the efforts for introducing innovative water use and management practices and technologies related to design, construction and operation of a nuclear power plant. Reducing the water use and consumption for nuclear power plants is likely to help developing countries in introducing nuclear power in their energy supply mix. The bulk of the countries considering introduction of nuclear power are in water scarce regions. Hence, efficient water management in nuclear power plants is an important subject during the entire phases of construction, operation and maintenance of any nuclear power plant. This paper discusses global challenges for cooling systems as the need for nuclear power increases. The issues and possible solutions for these cooling systems are also addressed.

► Water requirements for nuclear power exceed those of fossil fuel power stations by 20–25% on average.
► Innovation led to new strategies in design and operation of NPP to improve water use and consumption.
► Implementation of new cooling technologies that reduce water consumption, comes at a cost which is a matter of tradeoff.