"Two months ago my posting was titled, "Is OTEC the most promising future sustainable energy option?" Let's call that Part 0. Last week, Part 1 was titled "OTEC for Hawaii." Today, I report on progress around the world. On September 13 or 14 I will post on "OTEC Part III," a summary of what by then will have happened at the fourth gathering of OTEC experts to occur at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority. Click on the second meeting for those details. This summit was organized by Guy Toyama (left"), who passed away late last year.
The most prominent newsworthy item is that Lockheed Martin essentially abandoned Hawaii and has entered into an agreement to develop a 10 MW offshore Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion ("OTEC") for China. The announcement indicated that additional systems in the range of 10 MW and 100 MW will be considered with initial success. Must be serious, as Secretary of State John Kerry was included in the photo released:
Why did Lockheed Martin leave Hawaii? I suspect they had hopes that Senator Inouye would provide Navy funding for the first experiment. After he passed away, they saw no government potential, and the company is not spiritually conformed to come up with several hundred million dollars of in-house funds.
According to Hawaiian Electric Company, OTEC International plans to construct a 1-MW demonstration plant at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority for operation in 2014, and the two companies are negotiating on a 100 MW floating platform to supply electricity to Honolulu.
"Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation has signed a memo of understanding with Bahamas Electricity Company to supply electricity and freshwater. To the left, my lunch with Ted Johnson (who formerly directed the Lockheed Martin OTEC group") and Jeremy Feakins, who heads the company. Their concept is different. The OTEC system will be, as all those others currently being considered, still closed-cycle, but OTE Corporation will themselves finance the program and work out a 25-30 year power purchase agreement with the utility. Much of the technical work will be handled by Kongsberg Devotek of Norway. Forbes reports that this company is involved with a coldwater pipe system for Baha Mar, a 3.4 billion luxury gaming resort in the Bahamas to be financed and built by China. An eight foot diameter pipe is envisioned, with deep cold water also being made available for terrestrial maricultural enterprises, production of fresh water and the like. The primary application would be cold water air conditioning. There remains the possibility of OTE Corporation succeeding in building an OTEC facility for the Navy on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. As the price of these facilities is being mentioned as 100 million, the size must be relatively smallish and far less than 10 MW. Plus, these would be built on land, so the selected sites would be need to tolerate the return of the effluent waters into the ocean. Plus, talks are ongoing with the Virgin Island, the Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico and the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar.
Bluerise of the Netherlands has a miniature pilot plant at Delft University. The company is talking about an OTEC facility as part of a total system eco-industrial park at the airport on the island Curacao in the Lesser Antilles. Lots of activity going in in the Caribbean.
Xenysys of Japan has been exploring options around the world. They have a 50 kW OTEC pilot plant on Kume Island, Okinawa. Discussions have been held with various islands around the world about their technology. To the left, I am pontificating, as usual, to Professor Yasu Ikegami of Saga University, who is an advisor to Xenysys.
The European Union is beginning to look into the possibilities:
* a 10 MW facility for Martinique, said to be well in progress, except funding has been slow in coming from uncertainty about the sale of carbon emission permits
* the first cold-water airconditioning system for a hotel at the InterContinental Resort,
Bora Bora
* tests by DCNS are ongoing on La Reunion in the Indian Ocean--I visited this site in 2005 and they came by Hawaii subsequently to find out more about the technology--above, that obligatory photo of OTEC interests having lunch with me at Orchids
* UK's Ocean Thermal Energy and DCNS of France are plotting something for the U.S. Virgin Islands
* Energy Island Bell Pirie from the UK plans to build a 10 MW OTEC facility in Cabangan, Philippines
Five upcoming gatherings in particular are worthy of your consideration:
* OTEC Symposium at the Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit, September 9-11 in Honolulu
* Hawaii-Okinawa Clean Energy Cooperation Ocean Energy Workshop, Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority, September 13
* Organic Rankine Cycle 2013 Conference hosted by Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, October 7-8
* OTEC Africa Conference 2013, but to be held at the University of Boras, Sweden
* Offshore Renewable Energy Conference, Singapore, October 29-31
OTEC News is a good source of current OTEC information. I delayed this posting because I had hopes of catching a couple of local experts on my floor on campus, but they must travel more than I do. I'll add their comments when I review the upcoming OTEC gatherings early next month.
Not quite OTEC, but the following four are all marine biotechnologists. Shizuko and Shigetoh Miyachi are visiting HNEI this month. Here, lunch with Brandon Yoza and Stephen Masutani:
Professor Miyachi retired from Tokyo University to found and head the Japan Marine Biotechnology Institutes for a decade.
-
0 comments:
Post a Comment