OTEC News - News about Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC)

Marshall Islands sees OTEC as way out of emergency

2008-07-04T10:22:00.002+02:00

Marshall islands sees OTEC as way out of emergency
Yokwe Online reports that the Marshall islands president has declared an economic state of emergency, due to energy prices. One part of the declaration looks at the long term and states that OTEC should be investigated as renewable energy source, the only alternative other than conservation mentioned by name.

OTEC and CO2 sequestration

2008-07-03T09:10:00.002+02:00

OTEC and CO₂ sequestration
Christopher Barry, has an article on OTEC and CO₂ sequestration at RenewableEnergyWorld.com. This article also discusses the subject of dissolved CO₂ in the deep water which is being brought up by an OTEC system.

We have a paper from 1989, Carbon dioxide release from OTEC cycles, by Herbert J. Green and Peter R. Guenther that discusses this issue, in the OTEC Library.

Xenesys progress

2008-07-03T09:08:00.002+02:00

Xenesys progress
Xenesys, the Japanese OTEC company, is being very active in general. I would recommend that you visit their frequently updated English language website.

Sea Solar Power negotiating for contract on Virgin Islands

2008-07-03T08:48:00.002+02:00

Sea Solar Power negotiating for contract on Virgin Islands
According to the Virgin Island's Daily News, the OTEC company Sea Solar Power is one of six organisations out of original fourteen that are negotiating to provide power to the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA). Within three to five months, the Executive Director of WAPA, Hugo Hodge Jr, estimated they should have completed contracts with at least two of the companies to begin the process of alternative power generation in the territory.

The other contenders offer waste incineration, coal, geothermal, solar and wind. WAPA expects to sign 20-year agreements for alternative energy production in the territory. (Although one wonders how coal power slipped in under that label.)

Harward Political Review on OTEC

2008-06-23T23:02:00.002+02:00

Harward Political Review on OTEC
The Harward Political Review has a piece by Becca Friedman about OTEC called: An Alternative Source Heats Up, Examining the future of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion.

OTEC podcast with Christopher Barry

2008-06-23T20:56:00.002+02:00

OTEC podcast with Christopher Barry
Renewable Energy World has a podcast where they discuss OTEC with Christopher Barry. Christopher is a naval architect and co-chair of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers ad hoc panel on ocean renewable energy.

Ammonia Fuel Conference

2008-06-23T20:44:00.002+02:00

Ammonia Fuel Conference
With ammonia sometimes being promoted as the energy carrier from off-shore OTEC installations to land I thought that the 5th Annual Ammonia Fuel Conference might be of interest. It happens 29�30 September 2008, in McNamara Alumni Center, University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN, USA.

Introducing Hawaii Oceanic Technology

2008-05-27T13:44:00.004+02:00

Introducing Hawaii Oceanic Technology
The fish farming company Hawaii Oceanic Technology gets covered by CNet News. There is a tantalising hint of ocean thermal energy conversion as part of the fish farming system. I predict that this is another cheap investment that will give good returns on investment even before the remaining fish stocks truly collapse.

Palau's government supports OTEC study

2008-04-30T10:00:00.004+02:00

Palau's government supports OTEC study
Marianas Variety reports that the island nation of Palau's government has passed a resolution to perform a feasibility study for OTEC for the island. A request for US$ 500,000 has supposedly been made to the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to support the study.

Edit: Thanks to Geoff Wilkie for pointing out that I misspelled Palau.

Solar boosted OTEC

2008-04-22T15:47:00.003+02:00

Solar boosted OTEC
An interesting theoretical paper on solar boosted OTEC [PDF] systems by Noboru Yamada, Akira Hoshi and Yasuyuki Ikegami, the latter working at Institute of Ocean Energy of Saga University, Japan. (I wish IOE hadn't abandoned their English language site.)

Auditors descend on NELHA

2008-04-05T23:05:00.003+02:00

Auditors descend on NELHA
According to an article in West Hawaii Today the state auditors will resolve whether NELHA is overcharging for its deep water to the mariculture tenants or not. The rising costs have been an issue for some time and now it seems the issue is coming to a head.

I am sure that the issues are not easy to understand from afar. But to lay the blame at the door of NELHA for failure in making OTEC happen in Hawaii, like Syd Kraul, owner of Pacific Planktonics, seems to be doing in a statement: "I am of the opinion that the aquaculture companies at NELHA have provided financial support for a very costly group of government employees and kept NELHA alive despite their failure in their missions relating to energy" is in my opinion downright churlish or ignorant. The failure to make OTEC happen in the US lies firmly at the door of the Department of Energy and the U.S. government. (Of course, knowing how these things happen, he was probably miss-quoted.)

Hawaii Energy Options - new blog

2008-04-05T22:45:00.003+02:00

Hawaii Energy Options - new blog
Doug Carlson writes a new blog on the energy situation in Hawaii. This could be interesting, as Hawaii has some of the best reasons in the world to become first with OTEC. They have the right environmental conditions, the expertise and a need. The question is do they have the political will to become big in green energy?

The Power Of The Oceans, by Big Gav

2008-02-27T00:03:00.003+01:00

The Power Of The Oceans, by Big Gav
Big Gav over at the Oil Drum's Oz/NZ section posted a nice overview of ocean energy. The post later got crossposted over at the Daily Kos, which gives it a bit bigger distribution.

New website for Seasolar Power

2008-02-19T09:27:00.002+01:00

New website for Seasolar Power
Seasolar Power has a new website with background material on OTEC and information about the company.

Palau Government want to do OTEC study

2008-02-19T09:17:00.003+01:00

Palau Government want to do OTEC study
According to the Micronesian Newspaper Marinas Variety the Government of Palau has submitted a proposal to the US Trade and Development Agency to secure funding for an OTEC study. The budgeted amount for the study is said to be US$ 500,000. According to he article they would limit the implementation of the eventual OTEC plant to US companies, suggesting that either OCEES or Seasolar Power could get the work.

NELHA Green Energy Zone web cast, 13 Feb. 2008

2008-02-14T13:34:00.004+01:00

NELHA Green Energy Zone web cast, 13 Feb. 2008
NELHA will hold a webcast about the Natural Energy Laboratory Hawaii Authority (NELHA) experiments in ocean thermal energy, aquaculture, and renewable energy development on the Island of Hawaii. Presenters include Ron Baird, who is the executive director of NELHA and Will Rolston who is the manager of the Hawaii Gateway Energy Center. Sign up beforehand at the above URL.
[edit] Opps, one day too late. Sorry. Well, you can download the PDF presentation from the link above.

Can Hawaii get out of the carbon rut?

2008-02-08T14:14:00.000+01:00

Can Hawaii get out of the carbon rut?
Lawrence Downes writes a short opinion piece in the New York Times about the be or not to be of renewable energy in the blessed islands of Hawaii. Lawrence says

It�s almost embarrassing how green things could be in blue Hawaii. There�s all that sunshine and those trade winds, plus a volcano that has been lazily erupting for the last 25 years. Many barrels of biofuel await tapping in vast acres of sugar cane. Funkier ideas like harnessing tides and waves and growing oily algae play to Hawaii�s strengths.

Not to mention OTEC potential. It would be interesting to hear a counter argument from those working in renewable energy in Hawaii about what is different today, why will OTEC or other renewable energy happen this decade?

OTEC well received at Philippines Energy Summit

2008-02-05T22:51:00.000+01:00

OTEC well received at at Philippines Energy Summit
The Philippine Daily Inquirer reports that OTEC was well received by the Philippine President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, at the Philippine Energy Summit, which is being held in Manilla this week. The country supposedly suffers from some of the highest electricity prices in Asia.

NELHA pipeline under threat

2008-01-16T17:42:00.000+01:00

NELHA pipeline under threat
According to West Hawaii Today, the NELHA deep sea water pipeline has partially come loose from its moorings and could break, causing substantial repair costs, in the US$ 10 million range. Fixing the problem before it breaks could cost as much as US$1 million. According to the article "Repair work needs to be undertaken at depths of 400 to 500 feet, where a concrete anchor is rolling on the sea floor and "bridles" holding the pipe in place have begun to separate.". NELHA is having problems getting the money to perform the repairs.

Hybrid ocean thermal energy conversion�Offshore solar pond

2008-01-16T17:20:00.000+01:00

Hybrid ocean thermal energy conversion � Offshore solar pond
Paul Straatman and Wilfried van Sark, has written an interesting new article (abstract) in Solar Energy about a new type of hybrid ocean thermal energy conversion system, an offshore solar pond,

Biofuel from algae

2008-01-16T16:53:00.000+01:00

Biofuel from algae
One of the potential side benefits of OTEC power plants, which is often talked about, is the possibility of growing algae in the nutrient rich water which is brought up as cooling water for the OTEC process. Shell together with HR Biopetroleum will be growing un-modified algae at NELHA Hawaii, to produce biofuel. This is a research project with some interesting potential. According to the press release the algae can "produce at least 15 times more oil per hectare than alternatives such as rape, palm soya or jatropha".

Energy Island in UK news

2008-01-16T16:37:00.000+01:00

Energy Island in UK news
Energy Island, the brain child of Dominic Michaelis and his colleagues, was covered quite nicely both in The Guardian and The Telegraph last week. Dominic and his colleague Jerome Tomasi has written on the subject of OTEC vs. Reverse Osmosis for us before.

India OTEC trial starts

2008-01-16T16:26:00.000+01:00

India OTEC trial starts
According to The Hindu and The Times of India, OTEC power generation trials have started, presumably on the Sagar Shakti research vessel, which is a 1 MW closed cycle plant.

Xenesys inaugerates OTEC R&D centre

2007-11-12T14:20:00.000+01:00

Xenesys inaugerates OTEC R&D centre
The new Xenesys OTEC R&D Center and the Xenesys Imari Plant was inaugurated on the 9 November 2007. There are some pictures from the plant and there is a timeline with pictures.

2007-11-09T14:31:00.000+01:00

The Versabouy floating platform system
Steve Khachaturian of Versabouy contacted me earlier about their new bouy floating platform system. They have some nice videos which show the system in action in a wave tank. This type of buoy system could make very large floating structures easier to build.