U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent
Statistics and Analysis Today in Energy Note: All data are
preliminary and subject to revision. Final data will be
published later this fall. Only power plants that reported
operational cooling systems that withdrew water for cooling in
2011 are displayed. Cooling systems are aggregated to the plant
level. Prolonged drought can affect power plants that rely on
large volumes of fresh water for a variety of reasons. Though
there have been few reported problems this year, lower water
levels are a potential concern for grid operators and system
planners during periods of extended drought. The map above shows
the relative size of electric power plants, expressed in
megawatts, for the subset of power plants that reported
operating cooling systems, by type, that withdrew water for
cooling during 2011 (the latest full summer season of data
available). - Once-through, fresh water cooling systems are more
likely to be affected by lower water levels in lakes, ri