ABSTRACT
Thegeologicalandhydrologicalcharacteristicsoftheareawherethepowerplantistobeerected determine, to a large extent, the type of the power plant. For example, fossil fuel power plants in theUnitedStatesareconcentratedmainlyintheeastandMidwestregionswherecoalisabundant. Similarly,hydroelectricpowerplantsareconcentratedinthenorthwestregionwherewaterand waterstoragefacilitiesareavailable.Nuclearpowerplants,however,aredistributedinallregions since their demand for natural resources is limited to the availability of cooling water.
