How much water does a parabolic trough power plant use?
It usually depends on what type of technology a parabolic trough power plant uses to cool its condenser. Table 1. shows water use with wet and dry cooling for conventional steam, combined-cycle, gas turbine, and parabolic trough solar power plants. The water use for conventional plants is based on a California Energy Commission report. The water use for the parabolic trough plants is based on data from the SEGS (solar electric generating station) plants operating in the Mojave Desert.
