RETROFITTING AND REPOWERING OF COASTAL POWER-STATIONS TO AUGMENT WATER-SUPPLIES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

The role of seawater desalination in meeting Southern California's lon g-term water needs is discussed, and the advantages of integrating rev erse osmosis (RO) plants with existing coastal power stations are poin ted out. For a typical ''reserve source'' coastal power station, compu ter simulation programs are used to predict plant performance and to d etermine water costs from part- and full-load operation of a retrofitt ed RO plant during off-peak hours based on single ownership of the int egrated facility. A similar approach is used to investigate technical and economic aspects of gas turbine repowering of existing coastal pow er stations combined with RO desalination of seawater. It is concluded that such plants provide an economically attractive means of augmenti ng water supplies in Southern California while reducing the dependence of coastal communities on distant sources of fresh water, which are s ubject to possible disruption in the event of a major earthquake and t o curtailment as a result of local and environmental pressures.