In the U.S. 35 of the 104 active nuclear power reactors currently use closed-cycle cooling towers while 60 use once-through cooling technology. EPA said that while their information on impact is limited, the agency claims it does know that trillions of aquatic organisms are impinged or entrained annually. EPA also said that 40 percent of all cooling water intakes are on water bodies that have threatened or engaged species.
|Installation of screens at the Oak Creek Station|
on Lake Michigan. Photo courtesy WE Energies
|Indian Point Energy Center|
According to Entergy conversions alone to the Indian Point plant would cost $1.1 billion for construction and would last until 2029 and being down a year without producing electricity total another $2 billion. Constructing cooling towers on site would require blasting 2 million cubic-yards of rock and granite over a period of four years in order to make space for the towers that are the size of two Yankee Stadiums.
Entergy has found technology that will provide better protection to the aquatic environment. Wedge wire screens are their solution for protecting fish eggs and larvae rather than cooling towers over the 20-year license renewal period. Installing wedge wire technology it would take three to five years and cost $200 million. (PowerGenWorldWide, Oct 1, 2010)