Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC)
Dr. Andrea E. Copping
OTEC (Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion) is has the potential to provide baseload power to the grid by generating energy from the thermal differential from warm tropical surface waters and cold deep ocean water. OTEC technology is well understood but plants have not been deployed due to the high capital costs for onshore or floating offshore plants. With renewed concerns about climate change including sea level rise and ocean acidification, as well as OTEC’s potential to produce desalinated water, provide sea water air conditioning (SWAC), and other added value uses, many nations are taking a strong look at developing OTEC for carbon mitigation.
This workshop will review the existing OTEC technologies, discuss the potential environmental effects of this type of power generation, and examine potential additional uses of OTEC beyond power production. Join us to learn more about OTEC, to contribute your knowledge on the feasibility and value of OTEC, and to meet some of the practitioners working towards commercial scale OTEC.
Hosted by:
| Time | Topic |
| 14:00 | Introductions, Purpose of Workshop
- Dr. Andrea Copping (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USA) |
| 14:10 | OTEC basics and potential for multiple uses
- Dr. Andrea Copping (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USA) |
| 14:30 | Makai OTEC system at NELHA, US
Richard Argill (Makai Ocean Engineering, Inc., USA) |
| 14:45 | OTEC in Japan - The “Kumejima” Model
- Benjamin Martin (Xenesys Inc., Japan) |
| 15:00 | Commercial development of OTEC
- Dan Grech (Global OTEC, UK) |
| 15:15 | OTEC in India: Multiple use of OTEC, with desalination
- Dr. Purnima Jalihal (National Institute of Ocean Technology, India) |
| 15:30 | Sea Water Air Conditioning Process: Energy Performance and Potential of Improvement
- Dr. Frank Lucas (University de la Polynese Francais, French Polynesia) |
| 15:45 | OTEC development in the Caribbean
- Diego Acevedo (University of Aruba, Aruba) |
| 16:00 | CEMIE-Océano OTEC prototype in Mexico
- Professor Victor Romero (Universidad de Caribe, Mexico) |
| 16:15 | Break |
| 16:35 | Discussion session |
| 17:30 | Report out |
| 17:45 | Next steps |
| 18:00 | Adjourn |