Abstract
Water availability is among the most important elements of
thermoelectric power plant site selection and evaluation criteria. With increased
variability and changes in hydrologic statistical stationarity, one concern is the
increased occurrence of extreme drought events that may be attributable to
climatic changes. As hydrological systems are altered, operators of
thermoelectric power plants need to ensure a reliable supply of water for
cooling and generation requirements. The effects of climate change are
expected to influence hydrological systems at multiple scales, possibly leading
to reduced efficiency of thermoelectric power plants. In this paper, we model
drought characteristics from a thermoelectric systems operational and
regulation perspective. A systematic approach to characterise a stream
environment in relation to extreme drought occurrence, duration and
deficit-volume is proposed and demonstrated. This approach can potentially
enhance early stage decisions in identifying candidate sites for a thermoelectric
power plant application and allow investigation and assessment of varying
degrees of drought risk during more advanced stages of the siting process.
