--- title: The Physics Of Keeping Thermal Power Stations Cool description: Thermal power stations are increasingly being throttled or shut down due to rising river temperatures and falling water levels caused by climate change. The... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/the-physics-of-keeping-thermal-power-stations-cool-mx206fep0 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: The Physics Of Keeping Thermal Power Stations Cool | daily.dev og:description: Thermal power stations are increasingly being throttled or shut down due to rising river temperatures and falling water levels caused by climate change. The... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/the-physics-of-keeping-thermal-power-stations-cool-mx206fep0 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/Mx206feP0.png og:image:alt: The Physics Of Keeping Thermal Power Stations Cool og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # The Physics Of Keeping Thermal Power Stations Cool **[Hackaday](https://daily.dev/sources/hackaday)** · 8 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Thermal power stations are increasingly being throttled or shut down due to rising river temperatures and falling water levels caused by climate change. The piece explains why light water reactors (LWRs) are disproportionately affected — their low thermal efficiency (~30-35%) means they produce far more waste heat than higher-temperature designs. It covers the physics behind this via the Rankine cycle and Carnot's theorem, then surveys cooling options: once-through river/lake cooling, natural draft cooling towers (with the Nine Mile Point Unit 2 retrofit as a case study), forced draft towers, spray ponds, and dry cooling. The conclusion points toward ultra-supercritical steam cycles and Generation IV reactors (pebble bed, molten salt) as the long-term path to reducing waste heat and cooling water dependency. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Why are nuclear power plants more affected by river temperature rises than coal or gas plants? Light water reactors (LWRs) operate at relatively low core temperatures, putting them in the subcritical thermodynamic regime. A modern PWR like the VVER-1200 achieves only about 35% thermal efficiency, while older designs like the VVER-440 run below 30%. This low efficiency means a large fraction of input energy becomes waste heat that must be rejected through the condenser, making them far more sensitive to cooling water temperature than higher-efficiency supercritical coal plants. _Engineers tracking nuclear plant constraints and cooling infrastructure find the latest coverage on daily.dev._ ### What cooling alternatives exist for thermal power stations besides once-through river cooling? Options beyond once-through river cooling include natural draft cooling towers (which use the chimney/stack effect), forced draft cooling towers, spray ponds (low-profile and low-tech), and dry cooling systems. Dry cooling uses large radiators or closed-loop condensers that lose no water to evaporation — particularly valuable in water-scarce or desert environments. The Nine Mile Point Unit 2 reactor in New York is a real-world example of retrofitting a natural draft cooling tower, a process that took 32 months to build. _Developers working on energy infrastructure projects track cooling technology developments on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [What do new nuclear reactors mean for waste?](https://daily.dev/posts/what-do-new-nuclear-reactors-mean-for-waste--onupm4xl3) · MIT Technology Review · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Working to eliminate barriers to adopting nuclear energy](https://daily.dev/posts/working-to-eliminate-barriers-to-adopting-nuclear-energy-zpxrvbbvg) · MIT News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [How next-generation nuclear reactors break out of the 20th-century blueprint](https://daily.dev/posts/how-next-generation-nuclear-reactors-break-out-of-the-20th-century-blueprint-qk040xtmi) · MIT Technology Review · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [TerraPower gets OK to start construction of its first nuclear plant](https://daily.dev/posts/terrapower-gets-ok-to-start-construction-of-its-first-nuclear-plant-tzfyvnkhh) · Ars Technica · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Radiative Cooling Powers Fans By Night](https://daily.dev/posts/radiative-cooling-powers-fans-by-night-p0wm7zr6r) · IEEE Spectrum · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/the-physics-of-keeping-thermal-power-stations-cool-mx206fep0) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"The Physics Of Keeping Thermal Power Stations Cool","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-physics-of-keeping-thermal-power-stations-cool-mx206fep0","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-physics-of-keeping-thermal-power-stations-cool-mx206fep0"},"datePublished":"2026-08-10T14:16:05.776Z","dateModified":"2026-08-10T14:16:34.389Z","description":"Thermal power stations are increasingly being throttled or shut down due to rising river temperatures and falling water levels caused by climate change. 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A modern PWR like the VVER-1200 achieves only about 35% thermal efficiency, while older designs like the VVER-440 run below 30%. This low efficiency means a large fraction of input energy becomes waste heat that must be rejected through the condenser, making them far more sensitive to cooling water temperature than higher-efficiency supercritical coal plants. Engineers tracking nuclear plant constraints and cooling infrastructure find the latest coverage on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What cooling alternatives exist for thermal power stations besides once-through river cooling?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Options beyond once-through river cooling include natural draft cooling towers (which use the chimney/stack effect), forced draft cooling towers, spray ponds (low-profile and low-tech), and dry cooling systems. Dry cooling uses large radiators or closed-loop condensers that lose no water to evaporation — particularly valuable in water-scarce or desert environments. The Nine Mile Point Unit 2 reactor in New York is a real-world example of retrofitting a natural draft cooling tower, a process that took 32 months to build. Developers working on energy infrastructure projects track cooling technology developments on daily.dev."}}]} ```