Cooling ponds are man-made or engineered bodies of water used by power plants to dissipate excess heat from their cooling systems. As heated water from the plant flows into the pond, it loses thermal energy and heat through things like evaporation, convection, and radiation, before finally being recirculated or discharged.
The pond acts as a heat sink, allowing the plant to manage waste heat in a controlled and environmentally compliant way. Cooling ponds are particularly common in fossil fuel and nuclear power stations located where access to flowing water bodies is limited. Their size and design depend on factors such as plant capacity, climate, and regulatory requirements.