2 ms·
I don't think that's consumption, though? Steam is still water, just in gaseous form, and it becomes liquid again via condensation.
by reissbaker 7y ago
I don't think that's consumption, though? Steam is still water, just in gaseous form, and it becomes liquid again via condensation.
- usrusr 7y agoI was about to post the same objection, the steam used in the turbine is in a closed cycle for all that I know. But a large amount of water is evaporated to cool the condenser in big plants that produce more waste heat than can be used by local low intensity heat consumers (district heating, greenhouses). In any case, water consumption is an incredibly weak metric if it's not somehow normalized by source and sink impact. It's irresponsible alarmism when e.g. irrigation use from a plentiful source is measured on the same scale as consumption of a non-replenishing mineral occurrence and/or water use that ends with dumping toxic liquid into a leaky artificial lake as seem with certain mining processes.