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THE ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF DUAL PURPOSE NUCLEAR DESALINATION OF GROUND WATER 1
Author(s) -
Lansford Robert R.,
BenDavid Shaul,
Roach Fred,
Creel Bobby J.,
Stevens Thomas H.,
Supalla Raymond J.,
Gelhar Lynn,
Gorman William D.,
Mead Richard W.,
Wilson Donald B.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.1979.tb01172.x
Subject(s) - environmental science , irrigation , desalination , net present value , dual purpose , internal rate of return , economic evaluation , exportation , water resource management , production (economics) , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental engineering , engineering , mathematics , economics , mechanical engineering , ecology , genetics , geometry , macroeconomics , geotechnical engineering , membrane , biology , microeconomics
The economic feasibility of a large scale dual purpose (desalting water and power production) facility were evaluated. Although a site in the Tularosa basin of southern New Mexico was chosen as a case study for this analysis, it is believed that the approach and consequential results would be applicable to alternative sites in the Southwest. The basic project evaluated included: a) a ground water well field; b) a dual purpose, nuclear, desalination plant; c) a mineral recovery plant; and d) a reservoir for recreation and irrigation storage. Principle project outputs included electrical power, minerals, recreation, and water for either irrigated agricultural production or export to an adjoining river basin. Two alternative project designs were developed for detailed analysis. The first alternative encompassed all major project components. The results, in discounted net values used to assess the feasibility of the project, were essentially negative; that is, values were less than zero for full scale development. The net benefits ranged from $‐986.57 million at a 5 percent discount rate, to $‐1,137.528 million at a discount rate of 10 percent. In the second alternative, exportation of the desalted water from the Tularosa basin to two adjacent rivers was analyzed with somewhat better net benefits, ranging from $‐382,527 million to $‐478,612 million at the 5 and 10 percent discount rates.