OTEC = NOAA & Coast Guard
NOAA and the Coast Guard have exclusive authority over OTEC
Keeney 7
Timothy R. E. Keeney, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, US Department of Commerce. “Hearing on: Renewable Energy Opportunities and Issues on the Outer
Continental Shelf” http://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2014/january/keeney0424.pdf
]//kevin
In the late seventies, there was also a period of interest in alternative energy sources. One of those alternatives ? ocean
thermal energy conversion (OTEC) ? is a process that uses the heat energy stored in the warm surface waters of the world's
oceans to produce electricity or other energy-intensive products. The
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Act
of 1980 (OTEC Act), gave NOAA lead responsibility for licensing the construction,
ownership, location and commercial operation of OTEC plants. The OTEC Act directed the
administrator of NOAA to establish a stable legal regime to foster commercial development
of OTEC. In addition, the OTEC Act directed the secretary of the department in which the
U.S. Coast Guard is operating to promote safety of life and property at sea for OTEC
operations, prevent pollution of the marine environment, clean up any discharged
pollutants, and prevent or minimize any adverse impacts from the construction and
operation of OTEC plants. In addition, the Act was designed to ensure that the thermal plume
of an OTEC plantship does not unreasonably impinge on, and thus degrade, the thermal gradient
used by any other OTEC plantship or facility, the territorial sea, or an area of national resource
jurisdiction of any other nation. An exception would be made, however, if the Secretary of State had approved such an
impingement after consultation with a nation. The OTEC Act also assigns responsibilities to the Secretary of State and the
Secretary of Energy regarding OTEC plants.
NOAA Works w/Military
NOAA works closely with military
USCG and NOAA 13 – US Coast Guard, Federal institution that specializes in oceanic and atmospheric issues [US
Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “Cooperative Maritime Strategy”
http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/Legal/docs/CG_NOAA_Cooperative_Maritime_Strategy.pdf, 2/2013 accessed 7/17/14]
JW
Over 200 years ago, an ancillary instruction to promote safe navigation gave rise to a long legacy of collaboration. The mutual
dependence and support of missions are as important today as they were at the founding of our Nation. Today, our
cooperation can be seen on a daily basis. We rely on each other’s capabilities and expertise to
affect the rescue of distressed persons at sea. We work cooperatively to protect marine sanctuaries and
protected species. We establish and enforce fisheries treaties and regulations to support
maritime resource stewardship, resilience and sustainability. We also enable the safety and
resilience of the marine transportation system and coastal infrastructure in the face of disasters and
increased demands for goods.
NOAA has deep historical and modern ties to the military
NOAA no date - Federal institution that specializes in oceanic and atmospheric issues [National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, “Home of the National/Naval Ice Center” http://www.natice.noaa.gov/Main_Organization.htm,
accessed 7/17/14] JW
The close association between NOAA and the U. S. Navy began in 1956 with the collocation of the
National Weather Bureau and U.S. Fleet Weather Central, Suitland in Federal Building #4 at the Suitland Federal
Complex. One result of this move was close cooperation between the Navy and Department of Commerce to
maximize productivity and efficient use of resources without duplicating effort . Later development of
weather satellites and the resultant impact of satellite imagery in meteorology and oceanography led to the formation of
NESDIS.¶ The value of satellite imagery to global ice analyses and forecasts contributed to the formation of the Joint Ice Center
in 1976, comprised of personnel from NOAA (NESDIS) and the Navy (Fleet Weather Facility, Suitland, MD). In 1995, the Joint
Ice Center became the National Ice Center as it expanded to include the U. S. Coast Guard. Coast Guard aircraft, icebreakers,
and Marine Safety Offices contribute valuable platforms for onsite aerial and ship observations, as well as accurate and timely
ship and station reports.¶ Today, interagency cooperation produces rich dividends as the Naval Ice
Center (NAVICECEN), NOAA, and the Coast Guard work together to operate the National Ice Center
and accomplish the national mission of providing global ice analyses and forecasts. The Commanding Officer of NAVICECEN
also serves as the Director of the National Ice Center. Additionally, the NIC enjoys a close international
relationship and data exchange with the Canadian Ice Service and the Canadian Meteorological Centre of
Environment Canada. The incredible value of joint agency and international cooperation are
clearly evident at the NIC. The NIC stands ready to tackle tomorrow's challenges with the same vigor demonstrated
throughout its distinguished history.
T - NOAA Not Military
NOAA isn’t part of the military – we ARE non-military
GPO ’96 – official institution of the Federal Government that preserves and disseminates information about all three
branches of the US [US Government Printing Office, “Letter report: Federal Personnel: Issues on the Need for NOAA's
Commissioned Corps” http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-97-10/html/GAOREPORTS-GGD-97-10.htm,
accessed 7/17/14] JW
GAO found that: (1) the NOAA Corps carries out civilian, rather than¶ military, functions; (2)
Corps officers operate and manage NOAA research¶ and survey ships that collect the data needed to support fishery¶
management plans, oceanographic and climate research, and hydrographic¶ surveys; (3) Corps officers' entitlement to
military ranks and¶ military-like compensation was an outgrowth of their temporary¶ assignments to the armed forces during
World Wars I and II; (4) the¶ Department of Defense's war mobilization plans envision no role for the¶ Corps in the future; (5)
Corps officers are not subject to the Uniform¶ Code of Military Justice; (6) the government would realize estimated net¶
savings of $661,000 by converting the Corps to civilian status; and (7)¶ a general downsizing in the Department of Commerce
reduced the number of¶ Corps officers to 332 as of July 1996, with a goal of 285 officers by¶ 2000.
OTEC Location
OTEC can be placed throughout the world—in tropical and equatorial
waters
Vega, 1992
(“Economics of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion” Online:
http://hinmrec.hnei.hawaii.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/OTEC-Economics-circa1990.pdf BH)
The following summarizes the availability of the OTEC thermal resource
¶ throughout ¶ the World: ¶ Equatorial waters, defined as lying between
10°N and 10°S are adequate except for the West Coast of South America; significant
¶
seasonal temperature ¶ enhancement (e.g., with solar ponds) would be required on the West Coast of
¶ Southern Africa; moreover, deep water temperature is warmer by about 2°C ¶ along the East Coast of
Africa.¶ Tropical
waters, defined as extending from the equatorial region
boundary to, ¶ respectively, 20°N and 20°S, are adequate, except for the West
Coasts of South ¶ America and of Southern Africa; moreover, seasonal upwelling phenomena ¶ would
require significant temperature enhancement for the West Coast of ¶ Northern Africa, the Horn of
Africa, and off the Arabian Peninsula.¶
OTEC Now
Japan currently owns the only OTEC plant in the world.
OTEC Foundation, 2013 (OTEC Foundation, “OTEC Testing in Okinawa,” OTEC Foundation,
May 14th 2013, http://www.otecnews.org/2013/05/otec-testing-in-okinawa/)
Okinawa Prefecture has announced the start of the OTEC operation test at Kume
Island on April 15th. The main aim is to examine the expected fluctuation of electricity supply caused by changes in
weather, season, and sea temperature. The testing and research will be conducted with the support of Saga University until the
end of 2014.IHI Plant Construction Co. Ltd, Yokogawa Electric Corporation, and Xenesys Inc were entrusted to construct the
50 kilowatt plant in the territory of the Okinawa Prefectural Deep Sea Water Research Center. The
plant installation
was finished in March and the first trial run was held on the 30th of March. The
location was specifically chosen in order to utilize the existing intake pipe developed
by the research center. The pipe had been used in the past for the intake of deep sea
water for fishery and agricultural use.
Japan, being surrounded in ocean, has huge potential to create ocean
energy.
The Japan Times, 2012 (The Japan Times, “Tapping into oceanic energy,” Sentaku Magazine,
March 26th 2012, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2012/03/26/commentary/worldcommentary/tapping-into-oceanic-energy/#.U8gpzPldVfA)
The key word for such efforts is “ocean.” Completely surrounded
by the sea, Japan has huge
potentials for utilizing oceanic power and resources. For starters, Japan is
surrounded by an exclusive economic zone of about 4.47 million square km. This is
the sixth-largest EEZ in the world. The first things that come to mind when thinking of submarine energy
resources are methane hydrate and natural gas. Japan is said to be blessed with methane hydrate reserves whose volume is
100 times its current annual gas consumption. But exploration technologies for this material are still in their infancy.
Submarine natural gas is also abundant in the East China Sea, where Japan and China are at loggerheads. There are a number
of other potential energy sources in the oceans around Japan. One is the kinetic energy of waves washing against Japan’s
34,000 km of coastlines. A 2010 report on wave-power generation by a panel of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government
estimated that at least 300 million to 400 million kilowatts of electricity could be generated by wave power. Another estimate
shows that within the range of 30 km from the coastlines, at a depth of 100 meters, there are potential energy sources
equivalent to more than 10 nuclear power plants. Sea-wave
power can be utilized to generate
electricity in two different ways: one is to let that power run a generator directly and
the other is to float a hollow box in the sea so that air movement created by the
vertical motion of waves inside the box will rotate the turbine of a generator.
The OTE is currently studying the feasibility of OTEC in the United States
Virgin Islands(USVI).
Lemière, 2014 (Virginie Lemière, “Feasibility Study for World’s First US-Based Commercial
OTEC Plant and Sea Water Air Conditioning (SWAC) Systems in USVI.” DCNS, March 6th
2014, http://en.dcnsgroup.com/2014/03/06/lancement-d%E2%80%99une%C3%A9tude-de-faisabilit%C3%A9-pour-l%E2%80%99installation-dans-les-iles-viergesam%C3%A9ricaines-des-premiers-syst%C3%A8mes-de-centrale-etm-et-swac-sea-waterair-conditioning/)
Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation Executive Chairman Jeremy P. Feakins echoed Senator Malone’s comments regarding the
need to study the feasibility, and benefits of these technologies: “Thanks to the
leadership of the USVI, we
will be moving forward to thoroughly evaluate the applicability of OTEC, SWAC, and
their associated fresh water and sustainable food production for the people here.”
Feakins added, “If the feasibility study bears out that these clean technologies are well-suited to USVI consistent with
preliminary data, their installation here could have a tremendous positive impact in terms of long-term energy-independence
and economic development based upon this Territory’s most abundant renewable local resource…the ocean.”
A 100 megawatt OTEC project is being planned to be created in Oahu by
2018.
Shimogawa, 2012 (Duane Shimogawa, “100-mw OTEC project planned for West Oahu,”
Pacific Business News, October 5th 2012, http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/printedition/2012/10/05/100-mw-otec-project-planned-for-west.html?page=all
OTEC International LLC is working with Hawaiian Electric Co. on a 25-year powerpurchase agreement for its planned 100-megawatt ocean thermal energy conversion
project, or OTEC, which would be built about five miles offshore from Kahe Point in
West Oahu. If successful, it would be the first commercial-scale OTEC plant in the world and could prove to be a model for
other projects of its kind, helping the state reach its renewable energy goal. The project, which will be split up into four
modules of 25 megawatts apiece, would be built at an estimated cost of “hundreds of millions of dollars,” according to OTEC
International officials. “We [already] have done some survey work,” said Eileen O’Rourke, chief operating officer for OTEC
International. “We will have some mooring lines [put in soon].” The first-of-its-kind
project is expected to
take about three years in the pre-development phase, which includes permitting, and
another three years for construction, with a target operational date of 2018.
Lockheed Martin is working with China to produce an OTEC system.
The new project is reminiscent of a similar idea, using different technology, that Lockheed is setting up off the shores of China.
In April, Lockheed announced an alliance with China's Reignwood Group to develop
an Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion project, or OTEC. It will utilize temperature differentials at
various depths of the ocean to generate 10 megawatts of power for the mainland . Lockheed believes OTEC is
scalable to as much as 100 megawatts per project -- enough electricity to power
16,000 homes.
Closed OTEC Now
OTEC Inevitable
OTEC inevitable – Lockheed Martin and China contract
Websdale 13 Emma Websdale, Emma is an environmental journalist and senior communications specialist for
renewable energy, http://empowertheocean.com/ocean-thermal-energy-conversion-commercialization/
The 10-MW ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) plant between Lockheed Martin and a
Thai-Chinese property developer comes on the heels of Ocean Thermal Energy
Corporation’s June 2013 announcement of its agreement with DCNS. The agreement with
the 13,000 employee Paris-based international Naval Defense contractor and ocean energy
innovator will jointly develop and build OTEC and Sea Water Air-Conditioning (SWAC)
systems worldwide, including the U.S. Virgin Islands. Following Ocean Thermal Energy
Corporation’s prior compacts to move forward with commercial OTEC and SWAC plants in
the U.S. Virgin Islands, Lockheed Martin’s China-based OTEC plant will also be of
commercial scale, utilizing the differences in ocean temperature to produce renewable
energy. Under the initial three and a half year contract, Lockheed Martin will provide
project management, design, and systems engineering services. The 10-MW, closedsystem OTEC plant will generate energy for a new Asian resort by using warm surface
waters to convert ammonia into gas to power a turbine. Meanwhile, deep cold water will
convert the steam back into liquid, thus providing baseload of energy. “The ocean holds
enormous potential for terrawatts of clean, baseload energy”, said Dan Heller, vice
president of new ventures for Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training. “Capturing
this energy through a system like OTEC means we have the opportunity to produce reliable
and sustainable power, supporting global security, a strong economic future and climate
protection for future generations.” The announcement is encouraging news to other OTEC
developers, as the new contract will help bring full commercialization of OTEC plants onestep closer, enabling the public and investors to witness their full benefits including
clean energy and carbon dioxide reductions. “Baseload 24/7 renewable energy is only a
small part of what OTEC can offer”, said Jeremy P. Feakins, Group Executive Chairman for
Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation. “OTEC can also provide a better quality of life to
millions of people by its three key outputs: clean energy, fresh drinking water and
sustainable food production through aquaculture.” Commenting on the Reignwood
announcement, Feakins added, “We are very pleased that Lockheed Martin is pursuing a 10MW OTEC plant, since the fact that companies like Lockheed are investing heavily in the
development of OTEC demonstrates that it is a commercially viable technology whose time
has come.” Data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the United States
Department of Energy website has indicated that at least 68 countries and 29 territories
around the globe are favorable candidates for OTEC plants. Furthermore, a recent study by
the U.S. Federal Agency NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
concluded that a 10MW OTEC plant is now feasible, using “current design, manufacturing,
deployment techniques and materials.” A further cause for optimism about OTEC
commercialization occurred at this week’s Ocean Energy Europe annual conference.
There, Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker announced that the Technology
Strategy Board would invest £7 million in offshore renewable infrastructure in an attempt
to drive down the sector’s cost of electricity generation.
This project will utilize closed cycle system.
Quick 13 Darren Quick, Technology focused writer for Gizmag, “World’s Largest OTEC Plant Planned for China”,
http://www.gizmag.com/otec-plant-lockheed-martin-reignwood-china/27164/
Lockheed Martin has been getting its feet wet in the renewable energy game for some time.
In the 1970s it helped build the world’s first successful floating Ocean Thermal Energy
Conversion (OTEC) system that generated net power, and in 2009 it was awarded a contract
to develop an OTEC pilot plant in Hawaii. That project has apparently been canceled but the
company has now shifted its OTEC sights westward by teaming up with Hong Kong-based
Reignwood Group to co-develop a pilot plant that will be built off the coast of southern
China. OTEC uses the natural difference in temperatures between the cool deep water and
warm surface water to produce electricity. There are different cycle types of OTEC systems,
but the prototype plant is likely to be a closed-cycle system. This sees warm surface
seawater pumped through a heat exchanger to vaporize a fluid with a low boiling
point, such as ammonia. This expanding vapor is used to drive a turbine to generate
electricity with cold seawater then used to condense the vapor so it can be recycled through
the system.
Commercial size closed-system OTEC going to be built in Hainan China
Websdale (Emma Websdale, environmental journalist and senior communications specialist
for renewable energy provider, Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation) ‘13
[“Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Power Plants Closer to Commercialization” Empower
the Ocean, 11/5/13, http://empowertheocean.com/ocean-thermal-energy-conversioncommercialization/, accessed 7/17/14]
The 10-MW ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) plant between Lockheed Martin and a
Thai-Chinese property developer comes on the heels of Ocean Thermal Energy
Corporation’s June 2013 announcement of its agreement with DCNS. The agreement with
the 13,000 employee Paris-based international Naval Defense contractor and ocean energy
innovator will jointly develop and build OTEC and Sea Water Air-Conditioning (SWAC)
systems worldwide, including the U.S. Virgin Islands.¶ Following Ocean Thermal Energy
Corporation’s prior compacts to move forward with commercial OTEC and SWAC plants in
the U.S. Virgin Islands, Lockheed Martin’s China-based OTEC plant will also be of
commercial scale, utilizing the differences in ocean temperature to produce renewable
energy.¶ Under the initial three and a half year contract, Lockheed Martin will provide
project management, design, and systems engineering services. The 10-MW, closed-system
OTEC plant will generate energy for a new Asian resort by using warm surface waters to
convert ammonia into gas to power a turbine. Meanwhile, deep cold water will convert the
steam back into liquid, thus providing baseload of energy.
10MW closed-system OTEC plant planned in Hainan, China
Power Technology (Market and Customer Insight Tool keeping up with latest global energy
industry news) ’14*
[“Hainan Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) Power Plant, China”, PowerTechnology, 7/17/14*, http://www.power-technology.com/projects/hainan-oceanthermal-energy-conversion-otec-power-plant/]
*last date modified
A 10MW ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) prototype power plant has been planned
off the coast of Hainan Island in southern China. The pilot project will be jointly developed
by the Beijing-based resort developer Reignwood Group and the US-based defence and
aerospace company Lockheed Martin. A memorandum of agreement was signed between
the two companies for this in April 2013.¶ The construction of the offshore power plant is
expected to start in 2014. Scheduled for completion in 2017, it will be world's largest ever
OTEC facility.¶ OTEC technology is still in early stage of development, although was
originally invented towards the end of 19th century. The Hainan OTEC Power Plant
designed by Lockheed Martin will mark the beginning of commercial deployment of this
technology.¶ "The plant will be configured as a closed cycle OTEC system."¶ The tropical
Hainan offshore was identified as an ideal location for the OTEC plant. The plant will be
configured as a closed cycle OTEC system.¶ Turbine systems of the plant will be placed
above the water surface, with warm water passing through the heat exchanger and boiling
the working fluid of ammonia to create steam.¶ The steam then passes through the
underwater heat exchanger to be condensed into liquid ammonia. Cold water is pumped
from 800m to 1,000m below the ocean surface.¶ The system will operate with the cyclical
process of boiling and cooling the working fluid in a closed loop.
Closed system OTEC to be developed in China
Quick (Darren Quick, author at Gizmag (?! Maybe find better credation) ‘13
[“World’s largest OTEC power plant planned for China” Gizmag, 4/18/13,
http://www.gizmag.com/otec-plant-lockheed-martin-reignwood-china/27164/, accessed
7/17/14]
Lockheed Martin has been getting its feet wet in the renewable energy game for some time.
In the 1970s it helped build the world’s first successful floating Ocean Thermal Energy
Conversion (OTEC) system that generated net power, and in 2009 it was awarded a contract
to develop an OTEC pilot plant in Hawaii. That project has apparently been canceled but the
company has now shifted its OTEC sights westward by teaming up with Hong Kong-based
Reignwood Group to co-develop a pilot plant that will be built off the coast of southern
China.¶ OTEC uses the natural difference in temperatures between the cool deep water and
warm surface water to produce electricity. There are different cycle types of OTEC systems,
but the prototype plant is likely to be a closed-cycle system. This sees warm surface
seawater pumped through a heat exchanger to vaporize a fluid with a low boiling point,
such as ammonia. This expanding vapor is used to drive a turbine to generate electricity
with cold seawater then used to condense the vapor so it can be recycled through the
system.
OTEC Commercially Viable Now – Project Being Built Off of China
Westenhaus 13
, (Brian, editor of the popular energy technology site New Energy and Fuel, 1/5/13, Oil Price.com, website that discusses oil
and energy based news, “First Commercial Scale OTEC Plant to be Built in China”, http://oilprice.com/AlternativeEnergy/Renewable-Energy/First-Commercial-Scale-OTEC-Plant-to-be-Built-in-China.html, 7/16/14, AC)
Lockheed Martin has announced that it is working with Reignwood Group to develop an
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) pilot power plant off the coast of southern China.
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion is now a commercial product. It’s the easiest access
geothermal/solar energy available. Ocean thermal uses the ocean’s natural thermal gradient
to generate power. Where there is warm surface water and cold deep water, the
temperature difference can be leveraged to drive a steam cycle that turns a turbine and
produces power. Warm surface seawater passes through a heat exchanger, vaporizing a low
boiling point working fluid to drive a turbine generator, producing electricity. Lockheed
Martin Ocean thermal is a binary system – where the heat difference between two points is
used for an energy source. With the huge reservoir of ocean heat the process can serve as a
baseload power generation system that produces a significant amount of renewable, nonpolluting power, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Earlier this month a
memorandum of agreement between the two companies was signed in Beijing for a 10megawatt offshore plant, to be designed by Lockheed Martin. The project will be the largest
OTEC project developed to date, supplying 100 percent of the power needed for a green
resort to be built by Reignwood Group. In addition, the agreement could lay the foundation
for the development of several additional OTEC power plants ranging in size from 10 to 100
megawatts, for a potential multi-billion dollar value. Dan Heller, vice president of new
ventures for Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training said, “The benefits to
generating power with OTEC are immense, and Lockheed Martin has been leading the way
in advancing this technology for decades. Constructing a sea-based, multi-megawatt pilot
OTEC power plant for Reignwood Group is the final step in making it an economic option to
meet growing needs for clean, reliable energy.” A commercial-scale OTEC plant will have the
capability to power a small city. The energy can also be used for the cultivation of other
crucial resources such as fresh-water production by flash evaporating the warm seawater
and condensing the subsequent water vapor using cold seawater and producing energy
carriers such as hydrogen and ammonia, which can be shipped to areas not close to OTEC
resources. Reignwood Group has several other green energy-related projects across a
variety of industries and is currently developing two large-scale low-carbon resort
communities, with others planned in key locations in China. Using Lockheed Martin’s OTEC
technology to power a new resort will help the company to develop its first net-zero
community. Colin Liu, senior vice president of Reignwood Group said, “Our mission at
Reignwood Group is to invest in low-carbon applications and solutions, integrating these
new green technologies into a plan to promote sustainable development practices.
Lockheed Martin’s OTEC technology offers a ground-breaking solution that will help us to
achieve this mission.” Once the proposed plant is developed and operational, the two
companies plan to use the knowledge gained to improve the design of the additional
commercial-scale plants, to be built over the next 10 years. Each 100-megawatt OTEC
facility could produce the same amount of energy in a year as 1.3 million barrels of oil,
decrease carbon emissions by half a million tons and provide a domestic energy source that
is sustainable, reliable and secure. With oil trading near $100 a barrel, the fuel-savings from
one plant could top $130 million per year.
Govt Support Solves
OTEC has potential to revolutionize energy, but lacks government
support
BECCA FRIEDMAN (Harvard Political Review – Ocean Energy Council,)
3/2014, “EXAMINING THE FUTURE OF OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION”
http://www.oceanenergycouncil.com/examining-future-ocean-thermal-energyconversion/, jj
Although it may seem like an environmentalist’s fantasy, experts in oceanic energy contend
that the technology to provide a truly infinite source of power to the United States already
exists in the form of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC). Despite enthusiastic
projections and promising prototypes, however, a lack of governmental support and the
need for risky capital investment have stalled OTEC in its research and development
phase.¶ Regardless, oceanic energy experts have high hopes. Dr. Joseph Huang, Senior
Scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and former leader of a
Department of Energy team on oceanic energy, told the HPR, “If we can use one percent of
the energy [generated by OTEC] for electricity and other things, the potential is so big. It is
more than 100 to 1000 times more than the current consumption of worldwide energy. The
potential is huge. There is not any other renewable energy that can compare with OTEC.Ӧ
French physicist George Claude first explored the science of OTEC in the early twentieth
century, and he built an experimental design in 1929. Unfortunately for Claude, the high
maintenance needed for an OTEC plant, especially given the frequency of storms in tropical
ocean climates, caused him to abandon the project. Nevertheless, his work demonstrated
that the difference in temperature between the surface layer and the depths of the ocean
was enough to generate power, using the warmer water as the heat source and the cooler
water as a heat sink. OTEC takes warm water and pressurizes it so that it becomes steam,
then uses the steam to power a turbine which creates power, and completes the cycle by
using the cold water to return the steam to its liquid state.¶ Despite the sound science, a fully
functioning OTEC prototype has yet to be developed. The high costs of building even a
model pose the main barrier. Although piecemeal experiments have proven the
effectiveness of the individual components, a large-scale plant has never been built. Luis
Vega of the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research estimated in an OTEC
summary presentation that a commercial-size five-megawatt OTEC plant could cost from 80
to 100 million dollars over five years. According to Terry Penney, the Technology Manager
at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the combination of cost and risk is OTEC’s
main liability. “We’ve talked to inventors and other constituents over the years, and it’s still
a matter of huge capital investment and a huge risk, and there are many [alternate forms of
energy] that are less risky that could produce power with the same certainty,” Penney told
the HPR.¶ Moreover, OTEC is highly vulnerable to the elements in the marine environment.
Big storms or a hurricane like Katrina could completely disrupt energy production by
mangling the OTEC plants. Were a country completely dependent on oceanic energy, severe
weather could be debilitating. In addition, there is a risk that the salt water surrounding an
OTEC plant would cause the machinery to “rust or corrode” or “fill up with seaweed or
mud,” according to a National Renewable Energy Laboratory spokesman.¶ Even
environmentalists have impeded OTEC’s development. According to Penney, people do not
want to see OTEC plants when they look at the ocean. When they see a disruption of the
pristine marine landscape, they think pollution.¶ Given the risks, costs, and uncertain
popularity of OTEC, it seems unlikely that federal support for OTEC is forthcoming. Jim
Anderson, co-founder of Sea Solar Power Inc., a company specializing in OTEC technology,
told the HPR, “Years ago in the ’80s, there was a small [governmental] program for OTEC
and it was abandoned…That philosophy has carried forth to this day. There are a few people
in the Department of Energy who have blocked government funding for this. It’s not the
Democrats, not the Republicans. It’s a bureaucratic issue.”¶ OTEC is not completely off the
government’s radar, however. This past year, for the first time in a decade, Congress
debated reviving the oceanic energy program in the energy bill, although the proposal was
ultimately defeated. OTEC even enjoys some support on a state level. Hawaii ’s National
Energy Laboratory, for example, conducts OTEC research around the islands. For now,
though, American interests in OTEC promise to remain largely academic. The Naval
Research Academy and Oregon State University are conducting research programs off the
coasts of Oahu and Oregon , respectively.¶ Oceanic energy advocates insist that the longterm benefits of OTEC more than justify the short-term expense. Huang said that the
changes in the economic climate over the past few decades have increased OTEC’s viability.
According to Huang, current economic conditions are more favorable to OTEC. At $65-70
per barrel, oil is roughly six times more expensive than in the 1980s, when initial OTEC cost
projections were made. Moreover, a lower interest rate makes capital investment more
attractive.¶ OTEC plants may also generate revenue from non-energy products. Anderson
described several additional revenue streams, including natural by-products such as
hydrogen, ethanol, and desalinated fresh water. OTEC can also serve as a form of
aquaculture. “You are effectively fertilizing the upper photic zone…The fishing around the
sea solar power plants will be among the best fishing holes in the world naturally,”
Anderson said. And, he added, these benefits are not limited to the United States . “Look at
Africa , look at South America , look at the Far East . It is a gigantic pot of wealth for
everybody… People are crying for power.”¶ In fact, as the U.S. government is dragging its
feet, other countries are moving forward with their own designs and may well beat
American industry to a fully-functioning plant. In India , of the OTEC cycle. Taiwan and
various European nations have also explored OTEC as part of their long-term energy
strategy. Perhaps the most interest is in the Philippines , where the Philippine Department
of Energy has worked with Japanese experts to select 16 potential OTEC sites.¶ Were its vast
potential harnessed, OTEC could change the face of energy consumption by causing a shift
away from fossil fuels. Environmentally, such a transition would greatly reduce greenhouse
gas emissions and decrease the rate of global warming. Geopolitically, having an alternative
energy source could free the United States , and other countries, from foreign oil
dependency. As Huang said, “We just cannot ignore oceanic energy, especially OTEC,
because the ocean is so huge and the potential is so big… No matter who assesses, if you rely
on fossil energy for the future, the future isn’t very bright…For the future, we have to look
into renewable energy, look for the big resources, and the future is in the ocean.” •
---Solvency---
General
OTEC Can Supply 24 Hour Clean Energy and Drinking Water in Over 100
Hundred Countries
Websdale 14
(Emma Websdale, is an environmental journalist and senior communications specialist. After recently graduating with a BSc in
Conservation Biology and contributing articles to over 50 different organizations including regular contributions to a
Sustainable living & Ethical Investment Magazine and the WildScreen Festival, Emma has acquired extensive research and
writing skills .1/27/14, Empower the Ocean.com, “5 Reasons Why Hundreds of People Think OTEC Is a Smart Investment”, ,
7/15/14, AC)
1) OTEC is 24/7: More Competitive Than Other Renewables Due to the unlimited
availability of the ocean’s thermal resource –the fuel that powers OTEC –this
technology is built to produce clean energy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For as
long as the sun heats our oceans surface waters every day, OTEC will generate
baseload (24/7) clean energy providing a great advantage over intermittent (albeit
important) renewable technologies such as solar and wind. OTEC also can shrug off
the storage problems that are often associated with clean energy. Due to its ability
to produce a range of secondary services, the surplus energy generated by an OTEC
plant can be diverted to power desalination plants (removing salt and other
minerals to produce drinking water). This flexibility ensures that OTEC-produced
energy never goes to waste. It also makes OTEC more dependable as an investment
and means greater financial returns for investors, as OTEC’s clean energy and fresh
water are in constant supply. Another major competitive benefit of OTEC is its range
of secondary services. Besides producing electricity and fresh drinking water, OTEC
can support agriculture and aquaculture industries, reducing local demand on water
supplies. OTEC can also slash electricity consumption and associated energy costs of
air conditioning in many tropical and sub-tropical regions by using a portion of the
cold deep ocean water for Sea Water Air-Conditioning (SWAC). These
environmentally friendly air-conditioning systems decrease electricity usage by an
amazing 80-90%, offering enormous reductions in carbon emissions. 2) OTEC’s
Location is Global Globally, over a hundred countries and territories in the tropics
and subtropics have been identified as having conditions favorable for potential
OTEC facilities. With many of these areas offering multiple locations to install OTEC
plants, there are hundreds of prospective OTEC sites in the tropics and sub-tropics,
where approximately 3 billion people live. OTEC’s global capacity is reflected by
data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) of the United States
Department of Energy (DOE), which lists at least 68 countries and 29 territories as
potential candidates for OTEC plants. Furthermore, a study performed by Dunbar
identified 98 territories with access to the OTEC thermal resource (a temperature
differential between warm surface water and deep cold ocean water of at least
20°C), making both floating and land-based plants possible in vast areas of the
globe. Over the last two decades, OTEC’s electricity pricing has become increasingly
competitive, particularly in tropical island countries where imported fossil fuels
have raised the price of electricity to the range of $0.30-$0.60/kWh. OTEC’s capacity
for producing enormous quantities of potable water as another revenue stream
substantially improves the economic attractiveness of this technology. 3) OTEC
Offers Vast Humanitarian Benefits By using the temperature differential between
warm ocean surface water and cold deep water as a renewable energy source, OTEC
can generate two of humanity’s most fundamental needs—clean drinking water and
renewable baseload (24/7) energy. Each OTEC plant is capable of producing
voluminous amounts of drinkable water (a 10-MW OTEC plant can produce as much
as 75 million liters of fresh drinking water a day). Thus, the technology can directly
relieve serious water shortage issues globally by meeting domestic and agricultural
freshwater demands both now and sustainably in the future. OTEC’s unique
symbiosis between clean baseload renewable energy and potable water production
is a natural fit. The combination addresses existing global factors that could
precipitate a humanitarian crisis: the growing global need for potable water as the
world’s population grows exponentially, the lack of available freshwater sources,
the increased concentration of populations in coastal regions, and rising energy
prices.
OTEC solves—commercially viable, environmentally friendly, untapped
energy source
Ascari et al 12
(Project Lead: Matthew Ascari, Lockheed Martin Corporation; Howard P. Hanson, Ph.D. – Florida Atlantic University; Lynn
Rauchenstein – Florida Atlantic University; James Van Zwieten Ph.D. - Florida Atlantic University; Desikan Bharathan PhD. National Renewable Energy Labs; Donna Heimiller- National Renewable Energy Labs; Nicholas Langle- National Renewable
Energy Labs; George N. Scott- National Renewable Energy Labs; James Potemra Ph.D. - University of Hawai‘I; Eugene JansenLockheed Martin Corporation; N. John Nagurny- Lockheed Martin Corporation; 10/28/12, “Ocean Thermal Extractable Energy
Visualization Final Technical Report,” p. 55-56, 7/16/14, AC)
The OTEEV Project has concluded that the potential energy stored in the Earth’s
oceans is a significant renewable resource which, to this day, remains virtually
untapped. With estimates of over 55,000 Terawatt hours per year of electrical
power available sustainably, it can no longer be ignored. Both energy generation
and energy conservation, in the form of seawater cooling, can be realized by
exploiting the existing ocean thermocline using carefully designed, placed and
operated systems with minimal impact to our environment. The technology to run
these systems reliably and sustainably has been demonstrated over the past
century, albeit on smaller and less-than-economical scales. A key to building support
for ocean thermal energy extraction commercialization is the ability to provide
estimates of ocean thermal resources at a regional or local level. For example, if a
regional utility in Florida understood that OTEC plants could provide Gigawatts of
base load, renewable power directly cabled into high-load areas, interest in the
technology would dramatically increase, resulting in market penetration and
commercialization. Municipal leaders would be better able to make utility decisions
if they understood the potential capacity of SWC. Support for mature OTEC
technology would increase and greater numbers of industry members would take
notice and determine how they might take advantage of the new markets. The
OTEEV project focused on fulfilling this need for regional insight to facilitate
commercialization and market penetration of the ocean thermal energy resource. By
reviewing the methods and steps followed in this project we can better grasp the
overall promise of ocean thermal energy and the needs for continued research in
this area. 8.1 Summary of the OTEEV Project Data Gathering and Processing: The
selection of the HYCOM+NCODA ocean data was based largely upon the quality and
availability of temperature delta, current speeds and grid point resolution. HYCOM
uses finite difference techniques to simulate the deep ocean’s adiabatic flow field
below the photic and mixed zones, and couples to the Navy Coupled Ocean Data
Assimilation (NCODA) multivariate approach for regions close to the surface.
Simulations are based on actual ocean measurements, where available, with a given
day’s simulation including both a 5-day forecast and a 4-day hindcast. Develop and
Energy Extraction Model: Characteristics for a nominal 100 MW net power OTEC
plant operating on a single-stage ammonia Rankine cycle are core to the modeling
approach. The nominal OTEC plant design corresponds to a location with 25.7 °C
surface water (460,000 kg/s) and 4.1 °C deep ocean water from 1000m depth
(366,000 kg/s). The size of the plant is feasible with current technology and large
enough to be economical in the predictable future. Characteristics of significance
are: heat exchanger sizing, cold water flow rate, cold water pipe sizing, discharge
depth, pumping losses not associated with the cold water pipe, and transmission
losses. Independent Validation: NREL has provided an independent assessment of
the OTEC power model using ASPEN to model the single-stage power process. NREL
and LM Team results are within 3% for the baseline case (98 MW vs. 101 MW net
power), and differ by no more than 12% at the extreme. The OTEC plant model
yields the net power production, validity of location for OTEC, potential air
conditioning cold water, and the corresponding latitude-longitude location. Net
power predicted varies from -3 to +164MW over a range of selected locations and
validity of location is positive for a net positive power production. Plant Spacing and
Resource Sustainability: In developing both global and regional estimates of power
from the ocean thermal energy extraction the team took into consideration the
localized sustainability. A plant spacing algorithm was developed as a function of the
cold water circulation to establish limits on regional OTEC plant density. By
applying this plant density factor to the net power results for each grid point within
the data set, the team was able to produce regional and global capacity estimates of
this resource.
**Hybrid Solvency**
General
Hybrid OTEC System Maximizes Thermal Energy To Produce Electricity and
Fresh Water
Vega 03 (, Luis A. PhD, National Marine Renewable Energy Center at the University of
Hawaii, and Leader in OTEC design. 12/03,”Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Primer”,
Marine Technology Society Journal V. 6, No. 4, Page 4,
http://www.uprm.edu/aceer/pdfs/MTSOTECPublished.pdf, 7/17/14, AC)
A two-stage OTEC hybrid cycle, wherein electricity is produced in a first-stage (closed cycle)
followed by water production in a second-stage, has been proposed by the author and his
coworkers to maximize the use of the thermal resource available to produce water and
electricity. In the second-stage, the temperature difference available in the seawater
effluents from an OTEC plant (e.g., 12 °C) is used to produce desalinated water through a
system consisting of a flash evaporator and a surface condenser (basically, an open cycle
without a turbine-generator). In the case of an open cycle plant, the addition of a secondstage results in doubling water production. The use of the cold deep water as the chiller
fluid in air conditioning (AC) systems has also been proposed (Syed et al., 1991). It has been
determined that these systems would have tremendous economic potential as well as
providing significant energy conservation independent of OTEC. A number of possible
configurations for OTEC plants have been proposed. These configurations range from
floating plants to land-based plants, including shelf-mounted towers and other offshore
structures. The primary candidate for commercial size plants appears to be the floating
plant, positioned close to land, transmitting power to shore via a submarine power cable
(Vega, 1995).
OTEC Hybrid Combines Electricity Efficiency with Fresh Water Production
Vega 03
( Luis A. PhD, National Marine Renewable Energy Center at the University of Hawaii, and Leader in OTEC design.
12/03,”Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Primer”, Marine Technology Society Journal V. 6, No. 4, Pgs 14-15
http://www.uprm.edu/aceer/pdfs/MTSOTECPublished.pdf, 7/17/14, AC)
To understand the details of the design and operation of a CC-OTEC plant, it is useful to
consider a specific example given by the 5 MW (nominal) floating hybrid-OTEC. The author
conceived this plant, as the pre-commercial plant needed to demonstrate the technical and
economical viability of OTEC and to assess the environmental impact (Figure 4).
Unfortunately, funding was not secured. A simplified flow diagram of the power cycle is
shown in Figure 5. The plant is based on a closed cycle for electricity production and on a
second stage, using the effluent water streams from the power cycle, for desalinated water
production. The baseline is for a floating plant, i.e., the power and water cycles are housed
in a barge or ship with the electricity transmitted to shore via a 15 cm submarine power
cable and the desalinated water via a small, 15 to 16 cm diameter hose pipe. Assuming
temperatures of 26 °C and 4.5 °C for the surface and deep ocean waters, in the electricity
production mode, a gross power output of 7920 kW, using off-the-shelf technology, is
sufficient to produce 5260 kW-net with an in-plant consumption of 2660 kW. The power
output for this cycle varies as a function of surface water temperature (the cold water
temperature is essentially constant) by 860 kW per °C. For example, for 28 °C temperature
the output would be 6980 kW-net. With the combined production of desalinated water and
electricity, the baseline outputs would be 5100 kW-net (160 kW required for the second
stage plant) and a daily production of 2281 m3 of desalinated water. This water output is
only 20 percent of the amount that can be produced with the second stage. The proposed
baseline facility could employ pressurized ammonia as the working fluid in the power cycle.
The baseline seawater flow rates were: 26.4 m3s -1 of warm water and 13.9 m3s -1 of cold
water. These flow rates could be supplied using validated technologies. A 2.74 m (inside
dia.) glass fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) cold water pipe would be suspended from the
barge to a depth of 1000 m. Warm seawater could be drawn in through a 4.6 m FRP pipe
from a depth of 20 m or through a 5m by 3m opening as shown in Figure 4. The mixed
effluent could be discharged through a 5.5 m FRP pipe at a depth of 60 m. This discharge
depth was selected to minimize the environmental impact. The baseline design employs
compact heat exchangers for the evaporator and condenser. A chlorinating unit would be
installed to minimize biofouling of the evaporator passages. It is known that with proper
design biofouling from cold seawater is negligible and that evaporator fouling can be
controlled effectively by intermittent chlorinating (50-100 parts per billion chlorine for one
hour every day.) Monitoring of the effluent water for elevated concentrations of ammonia
or chlorine would be performed on a regular basis.
Otec Solves
OTEC Can Supply 24 Hour Clean Energy and Drinking Water in Over 100
Hundred Countries
Websdale 1/27 (Emma Websdale, is an environmental journalist and senior
communications specialist. After recently graduating with a BSc in Conservation Biology
and contributing articles to over 50 different organizations including regular contributions
to a Sustainable living & Ethical Investment Magazine and the WildScreen Festival, Emma
has acquired extensive research and writing skills .1/27/14, Empower the Ocean.com, “5
Reasons Why Hundreds of People Think OTEC Is a Smart Investment”, , 7/15/14, AC)
1) OTEC is 24/7: More Competitive Than Other Renewables Due to the unlimited
availability of the ocean’s thermal resource –the fuel that powers OTEC –this technology is
built to produce clean energy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For as long as the sun heats our
oceans surface waters every day, OTEC will generate baseload (24/7) clean energy
providing a great advantage over intermittent (albeit important) renewable technologies
such as solar and wind. OTEC also can shrug off the storage problems that are often
associated with clean energy. Due to its ability to produce a range of secondary services, the
surplus energy generated by an OTEC plant can be diverted to power desalination plants
(removing salt and other minerals to produce drinking water). This flexibility ensures that
OTEC-produced energy never goes to waste. It also makes OTEC more dependable as an
investment and means greater financial returns for investors, as OTEC’s clean energy and
fresh water are in constant supply. Another major competitive benefit of OTEC is its range
of secondary services. Besides producing electricity and fresh drinking water, OTEC can
support agriculture and aquaculture industries, reducing local demand on water supplies.
OTEC can also slash electricity consumption and associated energy costs of air conditioning
in many tropical and sub-tropical regions by using a portion of the cold deep ocean water
for Sea Water Air-Conditioning (SWAC). These environmentally friendly air-conditioning
systems decrease electricity usage by an amazing 80-90%, offering enormous reductions in
carbon emissions. 2) OTEC’s Location is Global Globally, over a hundred countries and
territories in the tropics and subtropics have been identified as having conditions favorable
for potential OTEC facilities. With many of these areas offering multiple locations to install
OTEC plants, there are hundreds of prospective OTEC sites in the tropics and sub-tropics,
where approximately 3 billion people live. OTEC’s global capacity is reflected by data from
the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) of the United States Department of
Energy (DOE), which lists at least 68 countries and 29 territories as potential candidates for
OTEC plants. Furthermore, a study performed by Dunbar identified 98 territories with
access to the OTEC thermal resource (a temperature differential between warm surface
water and deep cold ocean water of at least 20°C), making both floating and land-based
plants possible in vast areas of the globe. Over the last two decades, OTEC’s electricity
pricing has become increasingly competitive, particularly in tropical island countries where
imported fossil fuels have raised the price of electricity to the range of $0.30-$0.60/kWh.
OTEC’s capacity for producing enormous quantities of potable water as another revenue
stream substantially improves the economic attractiveness of this technology. 3) OTEC
Offers Vast Humanitarian Benefits By using the temperature differential between warm
ocean surface water and cold deep water as a renewable energy source, OTEC can generate
two of humanity’s most fundamental needs—clean drinking water and renewable baseload
(24/7) energy. Each OTEC plant is capable of producing voluminous amounts of drinkable
water (a 10-MW OTEC plant can produce as much as 75 million liters of fresh drinking
water a day). Thus, the technology can directly relieve serious water shortage issues
globally by meeting domestic and agricultural freshwater demands both now and
sustainably in the future. OTEC’s unique symbiosis between clean baseload renewable
energy and potable water production is a natural fit. The combination addresses existing
global factors that could precipitate a humanitarian crisis: the growing global need for
potable water as the world’s population grows exponentially, the lack of available
freshwater sources, the increased concentration of populations in coastal regions, and
rising energy prices.
OTEC Possible Now – Benefits Include Fresh Water, Air Conditioning and
Improved Air Quality
Lemier 14 (Virginie Lemier, Ocean energy communications at DCNS S.A., a naval defense
company based in France and one of Europe's leading shipbuilders, 2014/03/06,
DCNS.com, “Feasibility Study for World’s First US-Based Commercial OTEC Plant and Sea
Water Air Conditioning (SWAC) Systems in USVI.”, , 7/15/2014, AC)
Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation (OTE) is moving forward with a study to evaluate the
feasibility and potential benefits to the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) of installing onshore Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) renewable energy power plants and
Seawater Air Conditioning (SWAC) facilities. This announcement comes on the heels of June
2013 headlines that OTE and DCNS, a world leader in naval defense and an innovative
player in energy, signed a MOU to jointly develop and build OTEC and SWAC systems
globally in a variety of selected markets, including USVI.
The benefits to be assessed in the USVI study by both partners stem from both the baseload
(24/7) clean electricity generated by OTEC, as well as the various related products
associated with OTEC and SWAC, including abundant fresh drinking water, energy-saving
air conditioning, sustainable aquaculture and mariculture, and agricultural enhancement
projects for the Islands of St Thomas and St Croix. Costs of the study will not be borne by
USVI. The Honorable Shawn-Michael Malone, President of the USVI Senate, commented on
his signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) authorizing OTE’s feasibility study.
“The most fundamental duty of government is to protect the health and welfare of its
citizens,” said Senator Malone. “These clean energy technologies have the potential to
improve the air quality and environment for our residents, and to provide the foundation
for meaningful economic development. Therefore, it is our duty as elected representatives
to explore the feasibility and possible benefits of OTEC and SWAC for the people of USVI.”
OTEC Commercially Viable Now – Project Being Built Off of China
Westenhaus 13, (Brian, editor of the popular energy technology site New Energy and Fuel,
1/5/13, Oil Price.com, website that discusses oil and energy based news, “First Commercial
Scale OTEC Plant to be Built in China”, http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/RenewableEnergy/First-Commercial-Scale-OTEC-Plant-to-be-Built-in-China.html, 7/16/14, AC)
Lockheed Martin has announced that it is working with Reignwood Group to develop an
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) pilot power plant off the coast of southern China.
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion is now a commercial product. It’s the easiest access
geothermal/solar energy available. Ocean thermal uses the ocean’s natural thermal gradient
to generate power. Where there is warm surface water and cold deep water, the
temperature difference can be leveraged to drive a steam cycle that turns a turbine and
produces power. Warm surface seawater passes through a heat exchanger, vaporizing a low
boiling point working fluid to drive a turbine generator, producing electricity. Lockheed
Martin Ocean thermal is a binary system – where the heat difference between two points is
used for an energy source. With the huge reservoir of ocean heat the process can serve as a
baseload power generation system that produces a significant amount of renewable, nonpolluting power, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Earlier this month a
memorandum of agreement between the two companies was signed in Beijing for a 10megawatt offshore plant, to be designed by Lockheed Martin. The project will be the largest
OTEC project developed to date, supplying 100 percent of the power needed for a green
resort to be built by Reignwood Group. In addition, the agreement could lay the foundation
for the development of several additional OTEC power plants ranging in size from 10 to 100
megawatts, for a potential multi-billion dollar value. Dan Heller, vice president of new
ventures for Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training said, “The benefits to
generating power with OTEC are immense, and Lockheed Martin has been leading the way
in advancing this technology for decades. Constructing a sea-based, multi-megawatt pilot
OTEC power plant for Reignwood Group is the final step in making it an economic option to
meet growing needs for clean, reliable energy.” A commercial-scale OTEC plant will have the
capability to power a small city. The energy can also be used for the cultivation of other
crucial resources such as fresh-water production by flash evaporating the warm seawater
and condensing the subsequent water vapor using cold seawater and producing energy
carriers such as hydrogen and ammonia, which can be shipped to areas not close to OTEC
resources. Reignwood Group has several other green energy-related projects across a
variety of industries and is currently developing two large-scale low-carbon resort
communities, with others planned in key locations in China. Using Lockheed Martin’s OTEC
technology to power a new resort will help the company to develop its first net-zero
community. Colin Liu, senior vice president of Reignwood Group said, “Our mission at
Reignwood Group is to invest in low-carbon applications and solutions, integrating these
new green technologies into a plan to promote sustainable development practices.
Lockheed Martin’s OTEC technology offers a ground-breaking solution that will help us to
achieve this mission.” Once the proposed plant is developed and operational, the two
companies plan to use the knowledge gained to improve the design of the additional
commercial-scale plants, to be built over the next 10 years. Each 100-megawatt OTEC
facility could produce the same amount of energy in a year as 1.3 million barrels of oil,
decrease carbon emissions by half a million tons and provide a domestic energy source that
is sustainable, reliable and secure. With oil trading near $100 a barrel, the fuel-savings from
one plant could top $130 million per year
OTEC solves—commercially viable, environmentally friendly, untapped
energy source
Ascari et al 12 (Project Lead: Matthew Ascari, Lockheed Martin Corporation; Howard P.
Hanson, Ph.D. – Florida Atlantic University; Lynn Rauchenstein – Florida Atlantic University;
James Van Zwieten Ph.D. - Florida Atlantic University; Desikan Bharathan PhD. - National
Renewable Energy Labs; Donna Heimiller- National Renewable Energy Labs; Nicholas
Langle- National Renewable Energy Labs; George N. Scott- National Renewable Energy
Labs; James Potemra Ph.D. - University of Hawai‘I; Eugene Jansen- Lockheed Martin
Corporation; N. John Nagurny- Lockheed Martin Corporation; 10/28/12, “Ocean Thermal
Extractable Energy Visualization Final Technical Report,” p. 55-56, 7/16/14, AC)
The OTEEV Project has concluded that the potential energy stored in the Earth’s oceans is a
significant renewable resource which, to this day, remains virtually untapped. With
estimates of over 55,000 Terawatt hours per year of electrical power available sustainably,
it can no longer be ignored. Both energy generation and energy conservation, in the form of
seawater cooling, can be realized by exploiting the existing ocean thermocline using
carefully designed, placed and operated systems with minimal impact to our environment.
The technology to run these systems reliably and sustainably has been demonstrated over
the past century, albeit on smaller and less-than-economical scales. A key to building
support for ocean thermal energy extraction commercialization is the ability to provide
estimates of ocean thermal resources at a regional or local level. For example, if a regional
utility in Florida understood that OTEC plants could provide Gigawatts of base load,
renewable power directly cabled into high-load areas, interest in the technology would
dramatically increase, resulting in market penetration and commercialization. Municipal
leaders would be better able to make utility decisions if they understood the potential
capacity of SWC. Support for mature OTEC technology would increase and greater numbers
of industry members would take notice and determine how they might take advantage of
the new markets. The OTEEV project focused on fulfilling this need for regional insight to
facilitate commercialization and market penetration of the ocean thermal energy resource.
By reviewing the methods and steps followed in this project we can better grasp the overall
promise of ocean thermal energy and the needs for continued research in this area. 8.1
Summary of the OTEEV Project Data Gathering and Processing: The selection of the
HYCOM+NCODA ocean data was based largely upon the quality and availability of
temperature delta, current speeds and grid point resolution. HYCOM uses finite difference
techniques to simulate the deep ocean’s adiabatic flow field below the photic and mixed
zones, and couples to the Navy Coupled Ocean Data Assimilation (NCODA) multivariate
approach for regions close to the surface. Simulations are based on actual ocean
measurements, where available, with a given day’s simulation including both a 5-day
forecast and a 4-day hindcast. Develop and Energy Extraction Model: Characteristics for a
nominal 100 MW net power OTEC plant operating on a single-stage ammonia Rankine cycle
are core to the modeling approach. The nominal OTEC plant design corresponds to a
location with 25.7 °C surface water (460,000 kg/s) and 4.1 °C deep ocean water from
1000m depth (366,000 kg/s). The size of the plant is feasible with current technology and
large enough to be economical in the predictable future. Characteristics of significance are:
heat exchanger sizing, cold water flow rate, cold water pipe sizing, discharge depth,
pumping losses not associated with the cold water pipe, and transmission losses.
Independent Validation: NREL has provided an independent assessment of the OTEC power
model using ASPEN to model the single-stage power process. NREL and LM Team results
are within 3% for the baseline case (98 MW vs. 101 MW net power), and differ by no more
than 12% at the extreme. The OTEC plant model yields the net power production, validity of
location for OTEC, potential air conditioning cold water, and the corresponding latitudelongitude location. Net power predicted varies from -3 to +164MW over a range of selected
locations and validity of location is positive for a net positive power production. Plant
Spacing and Resource Sustainability: In developing both global and regional estimates of
power from the ocean thermal energy extraction the team took into consideration the
localized sustainability. A plant spacing algorithm was developed as a function of the cold
water circulation to establish limits on regional OTEC plant density. By applying this plant
density factor to the net power results for each grid point within the data set, the team was
able to produce regional and global capacity estimates of this resource.
Hybrid OTEC Better
Hybrid OTEC System Maximizes Thermal Energy To Produce Electricity
and Fresh Water
Vega 03 (, Luis A. PhD, National Marine Renewable Energy Center at the University of
Hawaii, and Leader in OTEC design. 12/03,”Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Primer”,
Marine Technology Society Journal V. 6, No. 4, Page 4,
http://www.uprm.edu/aceer/pdfs/MTSOTECPublished.pdf, 7/17/14, AC)
A two-stage OTEC hybrid cycle, wherein electricity is produced in a first-stage (closed cycle)
followed by water production in a second-stage, has been proposed by the author and his
coworkers to maximize the use of the thermal resource available to produce water and
electricity. In the second-stage, the temperature difference available in the seawater
effluents from an OTEC plant (e.g., 12 °C) is used to produce desalinated water through a
system consisting of a flash evaporator and a surface condenser (basically, an open cycle
without a turbine-generator). In the case of an open cycle plant, the addition of a secondstage results in doubling water production. The use of the cold deep water as the chiller
fluid in air conditioning (AC) systems has also been proposed (Syed et al., 1991). It has been
determined that these systems would have tremendous economic potential as well as
providing significant energy conservation independent of OTEC. A number of possible
configurations for OTEC plants have been proposed. These configurations range from
floating plants to land-based plants, including shelf-mounted towers and other offshore
structures. The primary candidate for commercial size plants appears to be the floating
plant, positioned close to land, transmitting power to shore via a submarine power cable
(Vega, 1995).
OTEC Hybrid Combines Electricity Efficiency with Fresh Water
Production
Vega 03 ( Luis A. PhD, National Marine Renewable Energy Center at the University of
Hawaii, and Leader in OTEC design. 12/03,”Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Primer”,
Marine Technology Society Journal V. 6, No. 4, Pgs 14-15
http://www.uprm.edu/aceer/pdfs/MTSOTECPublished.pdf, 7/17/14, AC)
To understand the details of the design and operation of a CC-OTEC plant, it is useful to
consider a specific example given by the 5 MW (nominal) floating hybrid-OTEC. The author
conceived this plant, as the pre-commercial plant needed to demonstrate the technical and
economical viability of OTEC and to assess the environmental impact (Figure 4).
Unfortunately, funding was not secured. A simplified flow diagram of the power cycle is
shown in Figure 5. The plant is based on a closed cycle for electricity production and on a
second stage, using the effluent water streams from the power cycle, for desalinated water
production. The baseline is for a floating plant, i.e., the power and water cycles are housed
in a barge or ship with the electricity transmitted to shore via a 15 cm submarine power
cable and the desalinated water via a small, 15 to 16 cm diameter hose pipe. Assuming
temperatures of 26 °C and 4.5 °C for the surface and deep ocean waters, in the electricity
production mode, a gross power output of 7920 kW, using off-the-shelf technology, is
sufficient to produce 5260 kW-net with an in-plant consumption of 2660 kW. The power
output for this cycle varies as a function of surface water temperature (the cold water
temperature is essentially constant) by 860 kW per °C. For example, for 28 °C temperature
the output would be 6980 kW-net. With the combined production of desalinated water and
electricity, the baseline outputs would be 5100 kW-net (160 kW required for the second
stage plant) and a daily production of 2281 m3 of desalinated water. This water output is
only 20 percent of the amount that can be produced with the second stage. The proposed
baseline facility could employ pressurized ammonia as the working fluid in the power cycle.
The baseline seawater flow rates were: 26.4 m3s -1 of warm water and 13.9 m3s -1 of cold
water. These flow rates could be supplied using validated technologies. A 2.74 m (inside
dia.) glass fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) cold water pipe would be suspended from the
barge to a depth of 1000 m. Warm seawater could be drawn in through a 4.6 m FRP pipe
from a depth of 20 m or through a 5m by 3m opening as shown in Figure 4. The mixed
effluent could be discharged through a 5.5 m FRP pipe at a depth of 60 m. This discharge
depth was selected to minimize the environmental impact. The baseline design employs
compact heat exchangers for the evaporator and condenser. A chlorinating unit would be
installed to minimize biofouling of the evaporator passages. It is known that with proper
design biofouling from cold seawater is negligible and that evaporator fouling can be
controlled effectively by intermittent chlorinating (50-100 parts per billion chlorine for one
hour every day.) Monitoring of the effluent water for elevated concentrations of ammonia
or chlorine would be performed on a regular basis.
Hybrid OTEC System Success in Japan – Produces Electrcity,
Aquaculture, and Fresh Water
IMARES Wageningen UR, Aquaculture and Fisheries, 6/514 (IMARES (Institute for
Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies) is the Netherlands research institute established
to provide the scientific support that is essential for developing policies and innovation in
respect of the marine environment, fishery activities, aquaculture and the maritime sector.;
“Delegation in Japan: Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) on the island Kumejima”,
Wageninger, https://www.wageningenur.nl/en/newsarticle/Delegation-in-Japan-OceanThermal-Energy-Conversion-OTEC-on-the-island-Kumejima.htm, 7/17/14, AC)
Kumejima is a small (46 km2) tropical island in Japan. It is part of the Okinawa prefecture
and has 8300 inhabitants. The prefecture of Okinawa wants Kume Island to be 100%
sustainable in the year 2020. This was the incentive to install a deep seawater pipeline in
2003. Every day, 13.000 m3 of cold (10°C) seawater is pumped from a depth of 612 m to the
island. The water is used for several purposes such as cooling, energy generation,
aquaculture and the production of drinking water, salts and cosmetics. The deep water
facility includes a research station and a deep water tower, from where the water is further
distributed. Around the institute is a 10 ha industrial park. Companies located here are
directly connected to the deep water supply. Companies located at a further distance can
obtain deep seawater at the “fuel” station for tank wagons. In addition to direct cooling, the
deep water is also used to generate electricity through the process of Ocean Thermal Energy
Conversion (OTEC). Kumejima currently has the world’s only operating OTEC installation, a
50 KW demonstration plant. OTEC takes advantage of the difference in temperature
between surface water and deep sea water. Warm surface water is used to evaporate a lowboiling point liquid such as ammonia to create steam. The steam drives a turbine that
generates electricity. The steam is condensated back to liquid using cold deep seawater.
Used seawater further used for aquaculture Deep seawater that has been used for OTEC or
cooling can be further used for other purposes such as aquaculture. This 6 ha shrimp farm
uses the clean, virus-free deep seawater for its hatchery. The farm produces 250 tonnes of
tiger prawn per year and is currently the largest deep water based industry on the island.
Deep seawater is rich in inorganic nutrients and as such very suitable for the aquaculture of
seaweeds. This farm produces 180 tonnes per year of seagrapes, a local variety of Caulerpa.
Deep seawater can also be used for human consumption. In a water factory, deep seawater
is converted into drinking water and salt through reversed osmosis.
**Open OTEC**
Open OTEC solves
Open Cycle OTEC System Creates Electricity from Water Vapor and Fresh
Water through Flash Evaporation
Vega 03
(Luis A. PhD, National Marine Renewable Energy Center at the University of Hawaii, and Leader in OTEC design. 12/03,”Ocean
Thermal Energy Conversion Primer”, Marine Technology Society Journal V. 6, No. 4, pgs 9-10,
http://www.uprm.edu/aceer/pdfs/MTSOTECPublished.pdf, 7/17/14, AC)
The open cycle consists of the following steps: (i) flash evaporation of a fraction of the warm
seawater by reduction of pressure below the saturation value corresponding to its
temperature (ii) expansion of the vapor through a turbine to generate power; (iii) heat
transfer to the cold seawater thermal sink resulting in condensation of the working fluid;
and (iv) compression of the non-condensable gases (air released from the seawater streams
at the low operating pressure) to pressures required to discharge them from the system.
These steps are depicted in Figure 2. In the case of a surface condenser the condensate
(desalinated water) must be compressed to pressures required to discharge it from the
power generating system. The evaporator, turbine, and condenser operate in partial
vacuum ranging from 3 percent to 1 percent atmospheric pressure. This poses a number of
practical concerns that must be addressed. First, the system must be carefully sealed to
prevent in-leakage of atmospheric air that can severely degrade or shut down operation.
Second, the specific volume of the low-pressure steam is very large compared to that of the
pressurized working fluid used in closed cycle OTEC. This means that components must
have large flow areas to ensure that steam velocities do not attain excessively high values.
Finally, gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide that are dissolved in seawater
(essentially air) come out of solution in a vacuum. These gases are uncondensable and must
be exhausted from the system. In spite of the aforementioned complications, the Claude
cycle enjoys certain benefits from the selection of water as the working fluid. Water, unlike
ammonia, is non-toxic and environmentally benign. Moreover, since the evaporator
produces desalinated steam, the condenser can be designed to yield fresh water. In many
potential sites in the tropics, potable water is a highly desired commodity that can be
marketed to offset the price of OTEC-generated electricity. Flash evaporation is a
distinguishing feature of open cycle OTEC. Flash evaporation involves complex heat and
mass transfer processes. In the configuration tested by a team lead by the author (Figure 1),
warm seawater was pumped into a chamber through spouts designed to maximize the heatand-mass-transfer surface area by producing a spray of the liquid. The pressure in the
chamber (2.6 percent of atmospheric) was less than the saturation pressure of the warm
seawater. Exposed to this low-pressure environment, water in the spray began to boil. As in
thermal desalination plants, the vapor produced was relatively pure steam. As steam is
generated, it carries away with it its heat of vaporization. This energy comes from the liquid
phase and results in a lowering of the liquid temperature and the cessation of boiling. Thus,
as mentioned above, flash evaporation may be seen as a transfer of thermal energy from the
bulk of the warm seawater to the small fraction of mass that is vaporized to become the
working fluid. Approximately 0.5 percent of the mass of warm seawater entering the
evaporator is converted into steam.
***Demonstration Programs Solve
US Demonstration of pre-commercial OTEC plant solves – Garners
Operational Data Needed for Wide-Spread Implementation and Clean
Energy Production
Vega 10 (Luis Vega, PhD, National Marine Renewable Energy Center at the University of
Hawaii, and Leader in OTEC design. “Economics of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion
(OTEC):
An Update”, 5/3/10, http://hinmrec.hnei.hawaii.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/OTECEconomics-2010.pdf, 7/18/14)
The major conclusion reached in the earlier report continues to be applicable: there is a
market for OTEC plants that produce electricity and desalinated water, however,
operational data must be obtained by building and operating demonstration plants scaled
down from sizes identified as cost effective. OTEC systems are in the pre-commercial phase
with several experimental projects having already demonstrated that the technology works
but lacking the operational records required to proceeding into commercialization.
Adequately sized pilot projects must be operated in situ and for at least one continuous year
to obtain these records. Our analysis indicates that a pre-commercial or demonstration
plants sized at about 5 MW must be operated prior implementation of 50 to 100 MW
commercial plants.
Accounting for externalities in the production and consumption of electricity and
desalinated water might eventually help the development and expand the applicability of
OTEC. Unfortunately, it is futile to use these arguments to convince the financial community
to invest in OTEC plants without an operational record. The major challenge continues to be
the requirement to finance relatively high capital investments that must be balanced by the
expected but yet to be demonstrated low operational costs. Perhaps a lesson can be learned
from the successful commercialization of wind energy due to consistent government
funding of pilot or pre-commercial projects that led to appropriate and realistic
determination of technical requirements and operational costs in Germany, Denmark and
Spain. In this context, by commercialization we mean that equipment can be financed under
terms that yield cost competitive electricity. This of course depends on specific conditions at
each site. Presently, for example, in Hawai’i cost competitiveness requires electricity
produced at less than about 0.20 $/kWh. Our analysis indicates that, without subsidies or
environmental credits, plants would have to be 50 MW or bigger to be cost competitive in
Hawai’i. In discussing OTEC’s potential it is important to remember that implementation of
the first plant would take about 5-years after order is placed. This is illustrated with the
baseline schedule shown in Table 7. The time required for each major activity also applies
to the pre-commercial or demonstration plant. Completion of the engineering design with
specifications and shop drawings would take one-year. Presently it is estimated that the
licensing and permitting process through NOAA (in accordance with the OTEC Act) would
take longer than 2-years for commercial plants with the provision of exemptions from the
licensing process for plants considered to be demonstration plants because of the limited
duration of the operational phase. A survey of factories that can supply all equipment
required for the OTEC systems discussed above shows that no technical breakthroughs are
required but that some components would require as long as 3-years to be delivered after
the order is placed. The solicitation of equipment quotes based on technical specifications,
as it was done in preparation of this report, indicates that long-lead items would require
from 18-months to 36-months to be delivered. Based on experience with offshore projects
of similar size it is expected that one-year would be required to complete the deployment
with a second year set aside for commissioning. As stated above, there are sufficient
petroleum resources to meet demand for at most 50 years and with production peaking we
will face a steadily diminishing petroleum supply. This situation justifies re-evaluating
OTEC for the production of electricity as well as energy intensive products. The US should
begin to implement the first generation of OTEC plantships providing electricity, via
submarine power cables, to shore stations. This would be followed, in about 20 years,
with OTEC factories deployed along equatorial waters producing, for example, ammonia
and hydrogen as the fuels that would support the post-petroleum era. The following
Development Schedule can be used as an outline of the activities required to implement
ocean thermal resources as a major source of energy for our post-petroleum future. A precommercial plant would be implemented with US government funding. The plant would be
operational (supplying electricity to the distribution grid) within 5-years and would be
operated for a few years to gather technical as well as environmental impact information.
Some of the valid questions regarding potential environmental impacts to the marine
environment can only be answered by operating plants that are large enough to represent
the commercial-size plants of the future. The design of the first commercial plant sized at 50
to 100 MW would be completed and optimized after the first year of operations with the
pre-commercial plant. This would be followed with the installation of numerous plants in
Hawai’i and US Insular Territories for a cumulative total of about 2,000 MW over 15-years.
As indicated in Table 8, the design of the grazing factory plantships that will produce the
fuels of the future (e.g., hydrogen and ammonia) could be initiated as early as 15-years after
the development program is implemented.
Pilot Plant Solves – Displays Commercialization Viability and
Effectiveness
Cohen 10
(Robert, PhD, consultant on ocean thermal energy, Senior Program Officer @
Energy Engineering Board at National Academy of Sciences. Program
Manager of ocean thermal energy R&D @ DOE, physicist at U.S. National
Bureau of Standards, then ESSA, then NOAA; 2/22/10, Energy Trends Insider,
“Response to Comments re Ocean Thermal Energy Posted on the R-Squared
Energy Blog,”, 7/18/14, AC)
There are various technical requirements for constructing and operating ocean thermal
power plant systems, some of which pose significant engineering challenges that must be
surmounted in order to achieve the commercial viability of ocean thermal systems. System
requirements include ocean engineering of the platform and its external attachments, and
power engineering internal to the platform. And the system solutions to all technical and
environmental requirements must be achievable at a reasonable total capital cost for the
system, so that, when amortized over the plant’s lifetime, the system will provide products
whose costs can be competitive in the marketplace. One of the reasons why the successful
operation of a multi-megawatt pilot plant will be a critically important step in making the
transition to a first-of-a-kind commercial power plant is that it will provide a capability to
assess the impacts of seawater circulation and to validate analytical circulation-modeling
studies. Building and testing a pilot plant prior to designing and constructing a commercial
plant is a standard, prudent industrial practice aimed at reducing risks when making the
transition from any engineering concept to a commercial reality. In the case of ocean
thermal, assembling the components and subsystems into a pilot-plant working system
prior to making a major investment in a commercial plant can build confidence in the
viability of the concept by demonstrating that it is practical at a multi-megawatt scale and
by solving any unanticipated problems that emerge. Operational data and experience
obtained from successful operation of a pilot plant will provide invaluable cost,
environmental, and engineering-design Inputs for moving to a commercial-size plant. Ocean
engineering requirements and challenges that must be successfully surmounted in
achieving commercially viable ocean thermal power plants include: • Designing and
deploying large-diameter, kilometer-long cold water pipes (CWPs) • Flexible, detachable
coupling of the CWP to the platform • Tolerance of the CWP to vibrations caused by vortex
shedding • Detachable mooring (or dynamic positioning) of ocean thermal power plants for
stationkeeping in depths equaling or exceeding a kilometer • Operability in storms, and
survivability in severe storms and hurricanes Similarly, means must be developed for
satisfactorily connecting submarine electrical cables to ocean thermal power plants, and
those cables will need to be durable and capable of transmitting power to shore from large
distances at a reasonable cost and with minimal power attenuation. For plantships grazing
on the high seas, the stationkeeping requirement is relaxed compared to the stationkeeping
requirement—usually mooring—for plants cabling electricity to shore. Some CWP failures
during deployment have historically occurred in the course of ocean thermal experiments,
yet many CWPs have been deployed successfully in the past forty years. However, the CWP
diameters required for large, multi-megawatt ocean thermal plants will considerably
exceed those of similar pipes that have been successfully deployed at sub-megawatt power
levels, largely as intakes for seawater-cooling or lake-water-cooling installations. In 2008
DOE awarded LM a cost-shared, multi-year R&D coöperative agreement aimed at
demonstrating technology for designing and deploying a CWP made of composite material.
The LM technique is to fabricate sections of the CWP aboard the platform, then to assemble
and deploy them as they are manufactured. LM is developing approaches for coupling the
CWP to the ocean platform, as part of the NAVFAC contract mentioned here earlier.
Pilot plant key to creating investments.
Meyer 11 Laurie Meyer, Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors Manassas, “Are We There Yet? A Developer’s
Roadmap to OTEC Commercialization”, http://hinmrec.hnei.hawaii.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/OTEC-Road-toCommercialization-September-2011-_-LM.pdf
However, successful risk reduction is not the only barrier for commercialization. We needed
to address the Valley-of- Death, finding funds to build a pilot facility large enough to
convince investors and Lockheed Martin management we could be successful at commercial
utility scales. We believe an integrated megawatt scale pilot plant is still needed to
obtain the large amounts of private financing needed for commercial, utility scale
OTEC plants. Our early focus was on a 10 megawatt (MW) floating design. We viewed
scaling 10 MW up to an initial commercial 100 MW plant as a reasonable step with
acceptable risk for the private financing requirements. The pilot plant serves several
purposes and addresses multiple stakeholder concerns. It provides an integrated system
demonstration of the technology. When connected to a local grid, it provides the utility
with the opportunity to ensure baseload OTEC power performs as expected. The pilot
plant allows measurement of environmental parameters so the regulatory agencies can
understand and assess how larger, commercial plants will operate. The pilot plant will also
enable NOAA, the federal agency with OTEC licensing authority, to fine tune their regulatory
process. The pilot project will validate cost and schedule plans so both industry and
financial communities can extrapolate results to commercial projects. Since no commercial
OTEC plants are in operation today, the pilot plant will provide the opportunity to validate
estimate of operations & maintenance (O&M) requirements. Finally, a pilot plant will
provide public relations and community education opportunities about this new renewable
resource. We developed sufficient confidence and optimism to invest in tasks that would
refine our design. Along the way, we “picked up new friends,” companies that provided key
skills and credibility to make real progress. Complementing our Lockheed Martin / Makai
Ocean Engineering team (Fig. 6), we’ve added companies with expertise in the offshore
industry, naval architecture, ocean engineering, OTEC systems, composites, and the
environment.
Mini-OTEC proves project construction will generate investments –
federal oversight key.
Meyer 11 Laurie Meyer, Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors Manassas, “Are We There Yet? A Developer’s
Roadmap to OTEC Commercialization”, http://hinmrec.hnei.hawaii.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/OTEC-Road-toCommercialization-September-2011-_-LM.pdf
The 50 kilowatt (gross) Mini-OTEC plant was successful and today still remains the
only floating, net-power producing OTEC plant ever built. Mini-OTEC was operated by
the Lockheed team for three months off the Natural Energy Laboratory Hawaii Authority
(NELHA) on the Big Island of Hawaii to gather technical data on the operation of the system
as well as to prove the feasibility of clean electricity production using ocean
temperature differences in an environmentally benign way. (Mini-OTEC would be
classified as a business development Stage 2 demonstration.) During the 1970s, studies and
tests by many industry, academic, and government institutions were conducted. The way
seemed open to transition OTEC technology to deployment / pilot facility (Stage 3). DoE
was ready to award a contract in 1982 to build a 40 MW pilot plant. Unfortunately, that
award never happened as the new federal administration began to seriously reduce funding
for renewable energy in general and ocean energy in particular (Fig. 3)[2]. The ensuing
reduction in federal support and the return of fossil fuel prices to low levels curtailed most
industry support for OTEC development, though a number of significant activities, including
the OTEC-1 heat exchangers, FRP cold water pipe (CWP), and the NELHA open cycle plant
and corrosion tests continued through the 1990s. Lockheed’s journey was interrupted.
Pilot Project demonstration key to widespread adoption
SOPAC 1 South Pacific Applied Geoscience Comission – Fiji Islands,
http://www.clubdesargonautes.org/energie/sopacotec.pdf
Like the introduction of any other new energy technology, the question of suitability,
appropriateness and sustainability arises. “OTEC for the Pacific” is what many people will
perhaps agreed to, given its benefits of not only producing electricity but also desalinated
water, nutrient-rich water for agriculture and cold water for cooling purposes but the
benefits have to be weighed against the potential hazards to the marine environment which
many Pacific islanders rely upon as a source of food, income and recreation. With a few
countries in the Pacific region (Annex 1) identified as having the potential for OTEC plants,
perhaps researchers should consider carefully the recommendations provided from
feasibility studies that look at options to build a pilot/demonstration plant at these
sites. However, the issues raised above relating to the concerns and appropriateness should
also be fully answered. Lessons learnt from the Nauru plant (which operated for 10 months
from October 1981) and current research results provide a basis on which to form a
consensus on whether to build another plant in the region or not. The consideration to
adopt OTEC into the Pacific region may be premature as the technology has not yet
been commercially proven, however, given the right development parameters and a
feasibility study including environmental impact assessment that are consistent and
acceptable will ensure the development of a sustainable project in the nottoo- distant
future. Another consideration would be whether OTEC works out cheaper than the
currently available renewable energy technologies such as solar photovoltaics, hydro,
biomass and wind.
Government support is key to OTEC investment—allows for
experimentation and cost-reductions
Muralidharan 12 (Shylesh Muralidharan, B. Tech. Mechanical Engineering, Pondicherry University,
1998, Master of Management Studies, University of Mumbai, 2001, Submitted to the System Design and
Management Program, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in
Engineering and Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, February 2012, “Assessment of
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion” http://dw.crackmypdf.com/0744224001401970561/824363276.pdf, jj)
8.5. Recommendation
For OTEC, which has been around for more than a 100 years, there are several
obstacles that have to be crossed before it moves from an experimental stage to
commercially deployable in large-scale sites. The first challenge was a technological
one, of scaling various components of the system, but seems to have been conquered
to a large extent thanks to advances in other industries and continuous work by
experts and industry pioneers in the field. What the technology currently requires is
a fully functional large-scale OTEC plant to allow for experimentation with
materials, processes and make advances unique to this technology. The technology
should be supported by better regulation or other legal standards which are
mandatory to promote investments in the sector. Plantship/moored OTEC facilities
can be subject to maritime law as well as the codes, standards and other programs
already applicable to maritime shipping. This will help with siting and security
concerns of such plants. There should be an international agreement and design of
an OTEC permit for plantships to operate in international waters outside the 200mile economic zone. This might require a trans-national MOU5 0 between
governments to jointly utilize ocean thermal sites as resource sites which benefit
several countries simultaneously and collectively help address global energy and
water issues. Such regulation and licensing initiatives have to be jointly framed by
countries which have pioneered this technology, especially USA, Japan and some of
the small island nations discussed in this report. Financing this concept will require
new models that reduce the risk of the upfront investment costs. Innovative funding
models should be identified and borrowed from industries which have overcome
similar commercialization challenges. The inherent design flexibility allows for
innovatively enhancing this technology's investment opportunity through
modularization of capital investment. This approach will require breaking down the
capital costs of an OTEC plant to allow the main stakeholder to own the core facility
and lease out the power modules to other stakeholders, thereby entering into a coowner model for an OTEC plant. This will help reduce the capital cost burden on a
single entity as well spread the risk across multiple stakeholders. This will be
especially beneficial in situations where the OTEC plant is producing products other
than just electricity. In the initial demonstration plants, modularizing the project can
even lead to OTEC plant designs which can produce combinations of more than one
by-product, such as fresh water and seawater air-conditioning, marine aquaculture
and seawater air-conditioning, etc. The modular nature of the technology and
locational flexibility of OTEC can allow its facilities to be produced, owned and
operated by established organizations and facilities. OTEC may garner support and
services from shipyards, shipping companies and maritime labor, as they have
supported energy producers in the oil and chemical industry. This can also act as a
job-creation mechanism in these mature industries. Governments also have a huge
role to play in promoting investment in OTEC plants. Initial large-scale plants
might have to be funded through public-private shared funding. The initial plants
can also be viewed as a test bed to benchmark operating parameters of the
technology. Government can also help prioritize detailed research on the economics
of by-products and the environmental impact of the technology.
***DOAA Key
DOAA Key-Satellite Observation
NOAA uniquely qualified for OTEC development
Earth System Research Laboratory (laboratory where scientists study atmospheric and
other processes that affect air quality, weather, and climate) ‘13*
[“Research for Renewable Energy Development” NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory,
5/22/13*, http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/research/renewable_energy/]
*date reviewed
Renewable energy sources depend on improved atmospheric information to be
economically viable and successfully integrated into the U.S. electrical grid system.
Further, proposed ocean-based renewable energy technologies, including
hydrokinetic energy and ocean thermal energy conversion, will require research
and information about ocean conditions and processes before they can be
developed. NOAA can contribute to the development and integration of renewableenergy sources into the U.S. energy system through better atmospheric and oceanic
observations, models, forecasts, and analysis tools.¶ There is considerable
uncertainty about the impacts of renewable energy farms on the environment,
weather and climate across a range of spatial and temporal scales. Similarly, the
affects of natural variability and human-caused climate change on renewable energy
potential need to be assessed. NOAA is uniquely qualified to perform the research
needed and to develop products that address these areas to help inform decision
makers.
---Advantage Areas---
**Food Insecurity**
Food Insecurity Now/Inevitable
Droughts and floods causes food shortages
Whyte 13 (Sarah White, Immigration correspondent, “Oxfam warns of food shortages
caused by climate change,” The Sydney Morning Herald, September 23rd 2013,
http://www.smh.com.au/world/ oxfam-warns-of-food-shortages-caused-by-climatechange-20130923-2u9ky.html)
The cost and availability of food will be severely affected by increasingly extreme
weather caused by climate change, says a report by Oxfam on global food production.
More droughts, floods and heatwaves and rising sea levels will have irreversible effects on
the world's food supply chain, affecting the availability of crops ranging from rice and corn
to coffee, the report says. The average price of food, including staples, is forecast to double
in 20 years, in part due to erratic weather patterns and an acute decline in rainfall caused by
shifting climates. Crop quality can also be expected to drop. The Oxfam report comes days before the United Nationsbacked Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is due to release its latest report on global warming. The report, the first
since 2007 by the IPCC, is expected to show increased certainty that the planet is heating up and that humans are mainly
responsible. The price of corn from the Americas and Africa could rise by as much as 120 per cent by 2030, the Oxfam report
says. Last year, global corn prices rose by 40 per cent after the US midwest experienced its worst drought in 50 years. Prices of
rice from India and south-east Asia could increase as much as 25 per cent if these regions experience poor harvests brought on
by droughts and flooding. Unless serious
cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are made globally, there
will be significant rises in food prices, falling incomes, and growing poverty, said Oxfam
climate change advocacy co-ordinator Simon Bradshaw. "Climate change is no longer a
future threat," he said. "A hot world is a hungry world. This can certainly affect all of us in
Australia." The destruction caused by severe droughts and floods is already being felt
in Pakistan, Russia, the US, China, Kazakhstan and Britain, where crop losses worsen
scarcity and trigger price spikes.
Global warming causes food shortages
Freedman 14 (Andrew Freedman, Senior Climate Reporter for Mashable, “Climate
Change May Lead to Food Shortages, Civil Conflicts, Scientists Warn” Mashable, March 30th
2014, http://mashable.com/ 2014/03/30/climat e-change-to-lead-to-food-shortages-civilconflicts-climate-panel-warns/)
The effects of man-made climate change, from sea-level rise to increasingly acidic
ocean waters, have already become starkly apparent throughout the world. These
effects are poised to worsen dramatically in coming decades due to continued emissions of
greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, according to a major
new scientific report released on Sunday. The report, which is the second installment of a
three-part series of scientific updates from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC), sharply warns that climate change poses the greatest risks to the most
vulnerable populations within all nations, and a potentially existential risk to poorer
countries already struggling with food insecurity and civil conflict, as well as low-lying small
island states. According to the report, climate change is likely to ratchet up the amount of
stress being placed on natural and human systems, to the point where increased loss of
species is likely, along with increasingly frequent breakdowns in the functioning of human
society. In particular, the report cites the effects increased temperatures and heat waves
have on essential food crops — in most cases lowering productivity — and warns of food
availability and price swings that could lead to civil unrest in countries that are
already having problems meeting the basic needs of their citizens. Climate change has
already begun to hold back wheat and maize yields, the report found.
Food insecurity in the US is at its highest, and only getting worse
Resnikoff 14 (Ned Resnikoff, “Food insecurity is at historic highs and getting worse,”
MSNBC, April 21st 2014, http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/hunger-the-us-historic-highs)
There is a hunger crisis taking place across the United States, and it is likely to get even
worse. As of 2012, 49 million Americans suffer from food insecurity, defined by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) as lack of access to “enough food for an active, healthy
life.” Nearly one-third of the afflicted are children. And millions of them don’t even have
access to food stamps, according to a new report from the anti-hunger organization Feeding
America. The report, called “Map the Meal Gap,” tracks food insecurity by county and finds
some regions of the country where the child food insecurity rate can go as high as 41%. The
major hot spots for hunger tend to be rural counties, nearly 60% of which are classified as
“High Child Food-Insecurity Rate Counties.” Yet in terms of absolute numbers, major urban
areas take the lead, with Los Angeles County alone laying claim to more than 620,000 food
insecure children. “The variation of food insecurity at the county level is quite significant,”
said Feeding America’s Chief Communication and Development Officer Maura Daly. Among
both children and adults, the least hungry county in the United States is Slope County, N.D.,
which has a food insecurity rate of 4%. Humphreys County, Miss., where about a third of the
population is food insecure, lies at the other end of the spectrum. About 27% of food
insecure people—including 32% of food insecure children—live in households which are
ineligible for food stamps, the main public assistance program dedicated to combating
hunger. That’s because food stamps only go to households with an income at or below
185% of the poverty line; hunger, though it may be linked in the popular imagination with
utter destitution, is now encroaching on the lower middle class. “When we talk about
unemployment being one of the primary drivers of food insecurity, oftentimes you have
people living right on that brink of 200% of poverty or higher,” said Daly. “And if you have a
loss of a job [in the household] … you can go almost overnight from a food secure household
to a food insecure household.” As grim as the numbers look, they probably don’t capture the
full extent of the problem. The 2014 edition of “Map the Meal Gap” tracks trends in food
insecurity between 2011 and 2012. In all likelihood, subsequent policy decisions in
Washington have caused food insecurity to rise even higher. Feeding America and other
anti-hunger organizations have yet to quantify the damage done by the 2013 food stamp
cuts and the further cuts included in the 2014 Farm Bill. “I think it’s very possible that we
will see an increase in food insecurity as a result of the [food stamp] cuts,” said Daly.
“Unfortunately, all data is retrospective when it comes to federal government tracking and
we oftentimes don’t know these things until later.” Yet early indicators are not encouraging.
Feeding America’s member food banks—described by Daly as “canaries in a mineshaft”
when it comes to hunger—are reporting ever-increasing levels of demand for their services.
Recent actions on the state level may have helped to slow the rate of rising hunger, but not
stop it, much less reverse it. At least for the near future, America seems likely to only get
hungrier.
The growth of human population causes food insecurity
Cunningham, 2013 (Margaret Cunningham, “What Is Food Insecurity? - Definition,
Impact & Prevention Efforts,” Education Portal, 2013, http://educationportal.com/academy/lesson/what-is-food-insecurity-definition-impact-preventionefforts.html#lesson
The second leading cause of food insecurity is the growth of the human population. The
human population has been growing steadily, and the amount of food needed to feed the
population has also increased. Overall, the human population is expected to increase by
about 2 billion people by 2050, and this will put a serious strain on the availability of food.
Although currently enough food is produced to feed every human on Earth, as populations
grow, the amount of people suffering from food insecurity will increase. The increase in the
human population will be particularly difficult in poor countries where people already
struggle to obtain food and will have more trouble as the population increases. Additionally,
the growing population can also influence food insecurity by limiting the amount of food
available for consumption. As the human population increases, there is a higher demand for
alternative fuel sources, such as biofuels. In recent years, this demand has lead to large
amounts of corn being used to create biofuels, thus reducing the amount of corn available to
feed people.
Food insecurity Impact
Overfishing Leads to Total Fish Extinction by 2048 – Based on 32
Controlled Experiments
Biello 6 (David Biello has been covering energy and the environment for nearly a decade,
the last four years as an associate editor at Scientific American. He also hosts 60-Second
Earth, a Scientific American podcast covering environmental news. 11/2/6, “Overfishing
Could Take Seafood Off the Menu by 2048”,
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/overfishing-could-take-se/,7/17/14, AC)
In 1994, seafood may have peaked. According to an analysis of 64 large marine ecosystems,
which provide 83 percent of the world's seafood catch, global fishing yields have declined
by 10.6 million metric tons since that year. And if that trend is not reversed, total collapse of
all world fisheries should hit around 2048. "Unless we fundamentally change the way we
manage all the oceans species together, as working ecosystems, then this century is the last
century of wild seafood," notes marine biologist Stephen Palumbi of Stanford University.
Marine biologist Boris Worm of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, gathered a
team of 14 ecologists and economists, including Palumbi, to analyze global trends in
fisheries. In addition to data from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization stretching
back to 1950, the researchers examined 32 controlled experiments in various marine
ecosystems, observations from 48 marine protected areas, and historical data on 12 coastal
fisheries for the last 1,000 years. The latter study shows that among commercially
important species alone, 91 percent have seen their abundance halved, 38 percent have
nearly disappeared and 7 percent have gone extinct with most of this reduction happening
since 1800. "We see an accelerating decline in coastal species over the last 1,000 years,
resulting in the loss of biological filter capacity, nursery habitats and healthy fisheries,"
notes team member Heike Latze, also of Dalhousie. And across all scales, from very small
controlled studies of marine plots to those of entire ocean basins, maintaining biodiversity-the number of extant species across all forms of marine life--appeared key to preserving
fisheries, water filtering and other so-called ecosystem services, though the correlation is
not entirely clear. "Species are important not only for providing direct benefits in terms of
fisheries but also providing natural infrastructure that supports fisheries," explains team
member Emmett Duffy of the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences. "Even the bugs and
weeds make clear, measurable contributions to productive ecosystems."
!!!OTEC Solves AquaCulture
OTEC can sustain aquaculture through producing nutrient-rich and
pathogen-free water – this solves food scarcity
Websdale 14 [Emma Websdale, BSc in Conservation Biology, environmental journalist and senior communications
specialist for energy magazine, Empower the Ocean. “The Promise of OTEC Aquaculture” Feb 14
http://empowertheocean.com/otec-aquaculture/]//kevin
Due to the technology’s looped system, under certain conditions the water can be re-used for secondary applications including
desalination to create fresh drinking water. One particularly attractive
by-product of OTEC plants is
nutrient-rich and virtually pathogen-free water from the deep ocean. This water provides
an optimal environment for various forms of aquaculture cultivation of both plants and
animals. Through open-ocean fish farming (where adequate flushing ensures dilution of waste products),
aquaculture can produce sustainable food supplies. Thus, OTEC provides an attractive
application to the aquaculture industry, especially in the face of current declines in
commercial fishing stocks. The cold, deep seawater, available as a result of producing
renewable energy through OTEC technology has numerous advantages for aquaculture
systems: -Rich in dissolved nitrogen, carbon and phosphorus, OTEC’s deep-ocean water
contains chemicals that are essential for fish and plant growth. -The consistent low
temperature of OTEC water provides opportunities to culture valuable cold-water
organisms both in native environments and in the tropics. -The virtually pathogen-free
water pumped by OTEC allows disease-free cultivation of sensitive organisms. Aquaculture
via deep seawater is not just a theory or hopeful expectation. The Natural Energy
Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA) currently utilizes cold deep seawater for both
mature and developing commercial aquaculture applications. NELHA already farms numerous seafood
products including shrimp, lobster, oysters, abalone, tilapia, kampachi, flounder and salmon. Additionally, aquaculture at
NELHA includes the growing of microalgae for pharmaceuticals or biofuels, thus providing
an input for humanitarian and environmentally friendly industries. Investment Opportunity
Aquaculture is both sustainable and achievable. With wild fish stocks disappearing at an all-time rate,
aquaculture provides a solution for replenishing global fish populations and alleviating
pressure on intensively over-fished wild stocks. Moreover, OTEC aquaculture can provide selfsustaining food resources for tropical island communities, helping them to compete with
foreign fishing industries. OTEC aquaculture can also strengthen local economies of small island
developing states (SIDS), by creating job opportunities for local island residents. As the global
population edges towards nine billion by 2050, the opportunity for jobs in the aquaculture
industry will continue to grow. This economic impact doesn’t stop with island communities. Aquaculture can also
extend to ‘upstream’ industries including agriculture, hatcheries, feed manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, and
veterinary services. ‘Downstream’ industries such as processors, wholesalers, retailers, transportation, and food services are
also supported by the aquaculture industry. Because OTEC
plants can incorporate aquaculture services
into their design, they will help to meet future fish demands – improving both food security
and protection of dwindling wild fish populations. An investment into OTEC facilities is a
smart one – it helps reduce the risk of global conflict over depleting food resources and
enhances the livelihoods of the millions of people who depend upon our oceans.
OTEC can be used to create aquaculture farms to feed this world’s
growing food demand (or something)
Websdale, environmental journalist and senior communications
specialist, 2014
(Emma, “The Promise of OTEC Aquaculture,” Empower the Ocean,
Feb. 24, Online: http://empowertheocean.com/otec-aquaculture/ BH)
Due to the technology’s looped system, under certain conditions the water can be re-used
for secondary applications including desalination to create fresh drinking water. One
particularly attractive by-product of OTEC plants is nutrient-rich and virtually pathogenfree water from the deep ocean. This water provides an optimal environment for various
forms of aquaculture cultivation of both plants and animals. Through open-ocean fish
farming (where adequate flushing ensures dilution of waste products), aquaculture can
produce sustainable food supplies. Thus, OTEC provides an attractive application to the
aquaculture industry, especially in the face of current declines in commercial fishing stocks.
OTEC solves food scarcity through fertilizers
Barry 8 [Christopher Barry, 2008. Naval architect and co-chair of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
ad hoc panel on ocean renewable energy. “Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion and CO2 Sequestration,”]//kevin
There might be an additional benefit: Another saying is "we aren't trying to solve world hunger," but we may have.
Increased ocean fertility may enhance fisheries substantially. In addition, by using OTEC energy
to make nitrogen fertilizers, we can improve agriculture in the developing world. OTEC fertilizer
could be sold to developing countries at a subsidy in exchange for using the tropic oceans. If we can solve the
challenges of OTEC, especially carbon sequestration, it would seem that the Branson Challenge is met, and
we have saved the earth, plus solving world hunger. Since President Jimmy Carter originally started OTEC
research in the '70's, he deserves the credit. I'm sure he will find a good use for Sir Richard's check.
OTEC provides chilled soil agriculture
US Department of Energy 13 [US Department of Energy, “Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Basics”
August 16 2013 http://energy.gov/eere/energybasics/articles/ocean-thermal-energy-conversion-basics]//kevin
OTEC has potential benefits beyond power production. For example, spent cold seawater from
an OTEC plant can chill fresh water in a heat exchanger or flow directly into a cooling
system. Simple systems of this type have air-conditioned buildings at the Natural Energy Laboratory for several years.
OTEC technology also supports chilled-soil agriculture. When cold seawater flows through
underground pipes, it chills the surrounding soil. The temperature difference between plant
roots in the cool soil and plant leaves in the warm air allows many plants that evolved in
temperate climates to be grown in the subtropics. The Natural Energy Laboratory maintains
a demonstration garden near its OTEC plant with more than 100 fruits and vegetables,
many of which would not normally survive in Hawaii. Aquaculture is perhaps the most wellknown byproduct of OTEC. Cold-water delicacies, such as salmon and lobster, thrive in the
nutrient-rich, deep seawater culled from the OTEC process. Microalgae such as Spirulina, a health food
supplement, also can be cultivated in the deep-ocean water. Finally, an advantage of open or hybrid-cycle OTEC plants is the
production of fresh water from seawater. Theoretically, an OTEC plant that generates 2 megawatts of net electricity could
produce about 14,118.3 cubic feet (4,300 cubic meters) of desalinated water each day.
OTEC can be used to create aquaculture farms to feed this world’s
growing food demand
Websdale, environmental journalist and senior communications
specialist, 2014
(Emma, “The Promise of OTEC Aquaculture,” Empower the Ocean,
Feb. 24, Online: http://empowertheocean.com/otec-aquaculture/ BH)
Due to the technology’s looped system, under certain conditions the water can be re-used
for secondary applications including desalination to create fresh drinking water. One
particularly attractive by-product of OTEC plants is nutrient-rich and virtually pathogenfree water from the deep ocean. This water provides an optimal environment for various
forms of aquaculture cultivation of both plants and animals. Through open-ocean fish
farming (where adequate flushing ensures dilution of waste products), aquaculture can
produce sustainable food supplies. Thus, OTEC provides an attractive application to the
aquaculture industry, especially in the face of current declines in commercial fishing stocks.
Aquaculture Solves Food Insecurity
Aquaculture Can Provide Food Security – Large Potential to Expand
World Bank, 13 ( United Nations international financial institution that provides loans to
developing countries for capital programs. “FISH TO 2030: Prospects for Fisheries and
Aquaculture”, AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES DISCUSSION PAPER 03,
December 2013, http://www.
wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2014/01/31/000461
832_20140131135525/Rendered/PDF/831770WP0P11260ES003000Fish0to02030.pdf,
7/17/14, AC)
Fisheries and aquaculture must address many of these difficult challenges. Especially with
rapidly expanding aquaculture production around the world, there is a large potential of
further and rapid increases in fish supply—an important source of animal protein for
human consumption. During the last three decades, capture fi sheries production increased
from 69 million to 93 million tons; during the same time, world aquaculture production
increased from 5 million to 63 million tons (FishStat). Globally, fi sh2 currently represents
about 16.6 percent of animal protein supply and 6.5 percent of all protein for human
consumption (FAO 2012). Fish is usually low in saturated fats, carbohydrates, and
cholesterol and provides not only high-value protein but also a wide range of essential
micronutrients, including various vitamins, minerals, and polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty
acids (FAO 2012). Thus, even in small quantities, provision of fish can be effective in
addressing food and nutritional security among the poor and vulnerable populations
around the globe.
**Water Advantage**
Water Shortages Now
New Potsdam Research Says 500 million people Swill uffer from Water
Scarcity If Global Temperature Increases – Uses 19 Different Climate
Change Models
Websdale 10/15/13 (Emma Websdale, Emma is an environmental journalist and senior
communications specialist for renewable energy, “Global Warming to Critically Impact
Water and Land Ecosystems, Warns Study”, http://empowertheocean.com/globalwarming-impact-on-ecosystems/, 7/17/14, AC)
New research by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), published in the
international scientific journal Earth System Dynamics, has found that even if global
warming is limited to 2C above pre-industrial levels, 500 million additional people could
suffer from water scarcity, with the figure steadily increasing as the temperature rises. “If
population growth continues, by the end of our century under a business-as-usual scenario
these figures would equate to well over one billion lives touched”, said Dr. Dieter Gerten,
one of the lead authors of the study. He added, “And this is on top of the more than one
billion people already living in water-scarce regions today.” Maps published in the study
marking the areas most at risk from water shortages and vegetation changes include
Pakistan and the border of India –two areas already suffering from floods and droughts.
Meanwhile, Mexico, North Africa, parts of Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean are
also projected to suffer from further water stress. “The increase in water scarcity that we
found will impact on the livelihoods of a huge number of people, with the global poor being
the most vulnerable”, said Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, co-author of the report and director
of PIK. “Now this is not a question of ducks and daisies, but of our unique natural heritage,
the very basis of life. Therefore, greenhouse-gas emissions have to be reduced substantially,
and soon.” Findings from the paper warn that consequences of failing to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions would be dire, putting nearly all terrestrial ecosystems at risk of severe
change. Calculating 152 scenarios using 19 climate change models including changes of
vegetation structure and flows and stores of carbon and water, the study found that, even if
strong climate mitigation limited warming to 2C above pre-industrial level, up to one fifth of
the land’s surface would experience moderate change. Furthermore, a warming of 5C –a
number the institute predicts is likely to happen in the next century if climate change goes
on unabated, would put nearly all terrestrial natural ecosystems at risk of severe change
including the forests of northern Canada, grasslands of eastern India, the Amazonian
rainforest and the savannahs of Ethiopia and Somalia. “Our findings support the assertion
that we are fundamentally destabilizing our natural systems”, said Wolfgang Lucht, coauthor of the study. “We are leaving the world as we know it.”
Climate Change and Water Loss Will Affect Hundreds of Millions of
Impoversied People
Websdale 13 (Emma Websdale, Emma is an environmental journalist and senior
communications specialist for renewable energy, “Climate Change Will Degrade Ocean
Productivity for 870 Million People”, http://empowertheocean.com/climate-change-willdegrade-ocean-productivity/, 7/17/14)
According to a recent study, published in the journal Public Library of Science Biology,
increasing levels of human-induced greenhouse gases are causing our oceans to warm and
to become more acidic, and are depleting oxygen levels in the water. These changes are
likely to cause shortfalls in ocean productivity. The study, led by Camilo Mora of the
University of Hawaii, conducted a global assessment of the changes to future ocean
biogeochemical variables in marine habits and their implications on people through 2100.
Researchers found that “the entire world’s ocean surface will be simultaneously impacted
by varying intensities of ocean warming, acidification, oxygen depletion, [and/or] shortfalls
in productivity.” The study warns that such changes in the ocean’s chemistry would be toxic
for several marine taxa, with all of the 32 marine habitats analyzed found to experience
climate variations. The report highlights the need for immediate ecosystem responses to
cope with and adapt to future changes associated with climate change. If marine ecosystems
fail to adapt, however, the report estimates that the ocean’s delivery of ecological services,
primarily food-based, could impose significant effects on human welfare. The lives of
approximately 470 to 870 million of world’s poorest people, who depend on the ocean for
income and food, could be compromised from the impacts. These results highlight the need
for immediate mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. “The impact of climate change will
be felt from the ocean’s surface to [its] floor. It is [genuinely] scary to consider how vast
these impacts will be. This is one legacy that we as humans should not be allowed to
ignore”, says Andrew Sweetman, co-author of the study. Results from this study support the
latest findings from the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) report,
which warns that unprecedented levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions released from
burning fossil fuels have degraded the health of the world’s oceans at a faster rate than
previously thought.
!!!New MIT Model Show Half the World’s Population Will Face Water
Scarcity by 2050
Websdale 1/14/14 (Emma Websdale, Emma is an environmental journalist and senior
communications specialist for renewable energy, “By 2050, Half of World’s Population Will
Be “Water Stressed””, http://empowertheocean.com/2050-water-stress/, 7/17/14, AC)
Based on a new modeling software, which calculates the ability of global water resources to
meet water demands through 2050, researchers from MIT estimate that approximately 5
billion people—over half of the world’s projected population—will live in areas where fresh
water supplies are scarce. The research also suggests that an additional 1 billion people,
particularly in areas that include the Middle East, Northern Africa, and India, will be living
in places where water demand exceeds surface-water supply. Using their own, new,
modeling software—the MIT Integrated Global System Model Water Resource System
(IGSM-WRS)—researchers analyzed the effects of both climate change and socioeconomic
changes on water availability in 282 large global basins. Results show that population and
economic growth are mostly responsible for increased water stress. The model also shows
that the effects of climate change—changes in precipitation and other weather patterns—
would limit the water available for irrigation, increasing the demand on world-wide water
resources, particularly in developed countries. “There is a growing need for modeling and
analysis like this, which takes a comprehensive approach by studying the influence of both
climatic and socioeconomic changes and their effects on both supply and demand
projections”, says Adam Schlosser, lead author of the study. “Our results underscore this
need.” MIT Researchers say they plan to expand on their research by conducting a more
detailed analysis on the future effects of climate change to water systems, paying particular
attention to specific regions.
!!!Water Stress Happening Now - Aquifers Being Depleted 3 Times More
Than Average
Otto 13 (Betsy Otto, Director of WRI’s Global Water Program. Over the past several years at
WRI, led development of Aqueduct™, a global water risk assessment and mapping tool to
inform private and public sector investment and water management decisions, has over 20
years of experience working on water resource management, ecosystem protection, and
urban water systems. World Resources Institute is a global research organization that spans
more than 50 countries, with offices in the United States, China, India, Brazil, and more.
‘New Study Raises Question: What Don’t We Know About Water Scarcity?”, 4/29/13,
http://www.wri.org/blog/2013/05/new-study-raises-question-what-don%E2%80%99twe-know-about-water-scarcity, 7/17/14, AC)
A new study from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reveals troubling news: The
aquifers that millions of Americans rely on for freshwater are being depleted at an
accelerating rate. In fact, aquifer depletion in the years between 2004 and 2008 was nearly
triple the historical average. Population growth and increasing demand—in particular for
irrigating crops—are straining these underground freshwater sources. In many cases,
aquifers have accumulated over the course of millions of years. There are two lessons we
take away from this USGS study: Growing demand is increasingly coming into conflict with
our finite global water supply. Even in places that are historically water-abundant, growth
in water demand is outstripping available supply. (That’s why WRI’s Aqueduct project
focuses on water stress – the ratio of water supply and demand – more than measures of
water quantity.) There’s still a lot we don’t know about water. While new research like this
report from USGS expands our understanding of the complex interaction between water
supply and demand, it often raises as many questions as it answers. How has the picture
changed in the United States since 2008? What is the condition of other aquifers around the
world? Good data on water is tough to find, and the groundwater hidden beneath our feet is
particularly enigmatic. Even the cutting-edge research underlying Aqueduct’s groundwater
stress map (see below) is limited to major aquifers, leaving substantial parts of the globe’s
groundwater resources uncharted. For the communities and businesses worldwide that
depend on groundwater, this lack of data poses a significant risk. Aqueduct's groundwater
stress map. Red areas indicate regions facing high or extremely high levels of groundwater
stress.
Climate change causes sever droughts
Gallucci 7-15 (Maria Gallucci, journalist for International Business Times, “California Drought 2014: State Officials
Push For Water Conservation as Climate change Threatens Future Drought”, http://www.ibtimes.com/california-drought2014-state-officials-push-water-conservation-climate-change-threatens-1629160, leading global online provider of
international breaking news)
With California in the grip of a crippling drought, state officials and
researchers are pushing for a culture of conservation -- not just for this summer but in
anticipation of what, thanks to global warming, is likely to be a drier future.¶
“Droughts will happen again because of our changing climate,” Karen
Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, told reporters on Tuesday. “We’re really focused on
looking at … how do we put resiliency into our systems at the local regional scale and the state scale to be able to survive
water
regulators are expected to pass the first-ever emergency water
restrictions for the entire state. The rules, if passed, will levy fines of up to $500 a day on Californians who over-water
droughts better.Ӧ Her statement followed a separate announcement Tuesday morning that state
their yards or hose down sidewalks and driveways.¶
Water shortages not just in California – GLOBAL THREAT
OTE Corporation 7/11/13 (www.otecorporation.com, business that specializes in OTEC technological
development and Sea Water Air Conditioning, “Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion and the Company Bringing it to Market:
Clean Water for our Children”, http://www.otecorporation.com/ocean-thermal-energy-conversion-and-the-companybringing-it-to-market-clean-water-for-our-children/)
A United Nations (UN) assessment of freshwater resources in 1997 found that one
third of the world’s population live in countries suffering from moderate to
high water stress – the inability to meet dietary and lifestyle requirements for
a growing economy. In 2000, a study published in the journal Science, warned that 8% of the world’s
population was already severely water stressed, including western USA, South
America, China, India, Australia and southern Africa.¶ Without intervention, this
fundamental global threat will only escalate. Approximately 67% of the world’s
population will be water stressed by 2025 according to the UN. Already, 900 million people
lack access to safe drinking water – endangering both their health and very
survival. Over 125 million of these are children under the age of five. According to UNICEF,
water deprivation inflicts 5,000 deaths on children each day. That is nearly 2 million children’s lives lost globally every year
due to lack of clean drinking water – 60 times the number of children who die annually from cancer in the UK.¶ Alarmingly,
recent global population explosions and socioeconomic development have caused an exponential growth in water demand to
meet agriculture and domestic purposes. Global water consumption between 1900 and 1995 increased six fold – more than
double the rate of population growth over the same period. Today, agriculture already accounts for around 70% of global
by 2030 the
world will need to produce 50% more food and energy, together with using 30% more fresh water in
order to meet demands. These trends are not limited to developing Nations. In fact, the Environmental Agency
(EA) has estimated that water demand in England and Wales alone could increase 35%
water consumption.¶ Furthermore, a new report released by the Steering Group has predicted that
by 2050. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has also predicted that water scarcity will begin pushing
up the price of water bills in the UK, increasing the rate of water poverty.¶
Climate change causes water shortages
OTE Corporation 7/11/13 (www.otecorporation.com, business that specializes in OTEC technological
development and Sea Water Air Conditioning, “Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion and the Company Bringing it to Market:
Clean Water for our Children”, http://www.otecorporation.com/ocean-thermal-energy-conversion-and-the-companybringing-it-to-market-clean-water-for-our-children/)
Climate change is another major force threatening the availability of the world’s future water
sources. A study by the US-based Scripps Institute of Oceanography published in the journal Nature, has
warned that climate change will cause major water shortages for millions of people in Asia
and South America. Those whose supplies depend upon melting snow and glaciers will become severely jeopardised, as
climate change will disrupt the annual flows of downstream water from snowy mountainous regions. The report estimated a
50% chance that climate change and excess usage could also leave Lake Mead dry by 2021- the major water source for Las
Vegas, where the blistering heat reached 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46.1 Celsius) on June 29, 2013.¶ With increasing droughts,
floods and disruptions to water flow patterns, global warming is testing our ability to cope with
reductions in the availability of drinking water. The future of water resources is therefore undeniably marked
by scarcity. With weather patterns continuing to endanger the world’s future supply of fresh water – we are faced with a
decision: do we continue standing motionless, ignoring these glaring facts and hoping that water poverty doesn’t escalate on to
our own backdoors? Or, do we move forward together to implement innovative solutions that can be certain of securing a safe
and abundant water supply for our children and ourselves?¶
Other places – not just California – are severly in drought too, GLOBAL ISSUE,
TAKES PRIORITY
OTE Corporation 7/11/13 (www.otecorporation.com, business that specializes in OTEC technological
development and Sea Water Air Conditioning, “Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion and the Company Bringing it to Market:
Peace for our Children”, http://www.otecorporation.com/ocean-thermal-energy-conversion-and-the-company-bringing-it-tomarket-peace-for-our-children/)
Two centuries ago, U.S. President John Adams advised us of the importance of observing our world with clear eyes, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes and passions, they cannot
there are places in the
world where the need for people to share limited fresh water supplies poses a real threat of
conflict.¶ The south Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu are two of these places. As described by T.P. Sreenivasan, former ambassador of India, “If Kerala and
Tamil Nadu were independent countries with their own armies; they might
have been at war by now over the water held behind a dam in Kerala that supplies Tamil Nadu.” Writing in the Indian Ink Sreenivasan added,
“Protests and demonstrations have lasted for more than five years and
tensions have been so elevated recently that some citizens have resorted to violence as
India’s federal government, for the most part, has watched helplessly.”¶ With increasing resource pressures from our exploding
population of more than 7 billion, combined with the consequences of climate change, the threat to living sustainably and
peacefully is rapidly growing. In 2011, over 185,000 Somalis fled to
neighbouring nations in an attempt to escape water and food shortage
hostilities brought on by droughts. The following year, Kenyan police records revealed a boost in water thefts as frequent droughts further degraded
water supplies. Brazilians also suffered from a 19-month long drought that ignited conflict during fierce competition for dwindling water reserves.¶ Unfortunately, climate change
is only going to aggravate these pressures. By altering rainfall patterns, river flows and increasing the frequency of floods and droughts,
alter the state of facts and evidence.” Though there are some facts we all would rather not face, one of those unpleasant truths is that
our ability to manage and ration fresh water supplies will become an increasingly serious challenge. So what will happen to diminishing fresh water supplies and resultant resource conflicts when our
population reaches 9 billion by 2050?
OTEC Solves Water
Tech is feasible, just needs to have large-scale implementation
OTE Corporation 7/11/13 (www.otecorporation.com, business that specializes in OTEC technological
development and Sea Water Air Conditioning, “Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion and the Company Bringing it to Market:
Clean Water for our Children”, http://www.otecorporation.com/ocean-thermal-energy-conversion-and-the-companybringing-it-to-market-clean-water-for-our-children/)
The authoritative US Government agency NOAA recently concluded that a 10 megawatt (MW) OTEC plant
is, “technically feasible using current design, manufacturing, deployment
techniques and materials”, with the use of a single cold water pipe. Using more than one cold water pipe, OTE currently plans to build 20MW plants also using
off the shelf components.¶ With hundreds of potential global project locations in the tropics and sub-tropics, OTEC can provide fresh drinking
water, and a cheaper, cleaner, reliable energy source to many sites where over
3 billion people live. It is calculated that, over one million gallons of desalinated drinking
water can be produced on a daily basis with a 2 MW OTEC plant. Furthermore, data from the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the United States Department of Energy website has indicated that
at least 68 countries and 29 territories around the globe are potential
candidates for OTEC plants; marking the technology’s tremendous capacity for
global fresh water production.¶ In the last two decades since the successful pilot OTEC plant in Hawaii, rising oil prices and
technical advances in the offshore oil industry – many of which are applicable to deep cold water pipe technology for OTEC,
mean that OTEC is now ready for large-scale commercial development.
OTEC is proven to work effectively small-scale, ramping up is key to
solve for water shortages
OTE Corporation 7/11/13 (OTE Corporation, business that specializes in OTEC technological
development and Sea Water Air Conditioning, “Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion and the Company Bringing it to Market:
Peace for our Children”, http://www.otecorporation.com/ocean-thermal-energy-conversion-and-the-company-bringing-it-tomarket-peace-for-our-children/)
Proven to work in Hawaii, USA, where the pilot land-based OTEC plant was constructed in the 1990’s at the
Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA), the OTEC deep, cold water pipes continue to provide a
large supply of nutrient rich, pathogen free deep ocean water, giving rise to
thriving businesses, including bottled water operations.¶ Globally, there are hundreds of
prospective OTEC project locations in the tropics and sub-tropics where 3 billion people
live. These prospects are reflected by data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
of the United States Department of Energy, indicating that at least 68 countries and 29 territories
are potential candidates for OTEC plants. Just one OTEC plant designed for a
10MW capacity can co-produce up to 75 million litres of fresh drinking water
every day.
OTEC Out Performs SQ Desalination Machines – Produce Fresh Water
without Fossil Fuels
Websdale 3/24/14 (Emma Websdale, Emma is an environmental journalist and senior
communications specialist for renewable energy, “Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation:
Shaping a Sustainable Future”, http://empowertheocean.com/ocean-thermal-energycorporation-sustainable/, 7/17/14, AC)
As a renewable energy producer, Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation (OTE) is shaping the
way we perceive sustainability. With its innovative technologies that can produce clean
energy, fresh drinking water, environmentally friendly air conditioning, and the conditions
for sustainable and responsible aquaculture, OTE Corp is creating sustainable solutions to
meet future global energy demands. OTE Corp Logo Imagine being able to address
fundamental needs – fresh drinking water, clean energy, and sustainable food – without the
use of fossil fuels. Imagine doing this without polluting the atmosphere with hundreds of
tons of carbon dioxide emissions, and without further taxing our dwindling wild fish stocks.
The technology called Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) makes this possible. OTEC
plants tap into the world’s most abundant resource –our oceans –and utilize the
temperature differential between the ocean’s cold deep waters and warm surface waters to
produce clean energy on a constant basis. By combining opportunities for power production
with seawater desalination (removing salt and other minerals from sea water to produce
drinking water), OTEC has a great advantage over desalination plants powered by fossil
fuels. The environmental impact and energy consumption associated with desalination
technologies are often intense. OTEC technologies replace these fossil fuels with clean
energy produced by OTEC plants, significantly reducing the amount of pollution released
each year. OTE Corp has already begun to bring island communities closer to this reality.
With its team of ocean scientists and engineers, OTE Corp continues to deliver a wealth of
expertise to present and future global projects. This includes a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with Zanzibar Electricity Corporation to build, design, own, and
operate multiple OTEC and desalination water systems in Zanzibar.
OTEC produces fresh water.
Websdale, environmental journalist and senior communications
specialist, 2014
(Emma, “The Promise of OTEC Aquaculture,” Empower the Ocean,
Feb. 24, Online: http://empowertheocean.com/otec-aquaculture/ BH)
The condensate of the open and hybrid cycle OTEC¶ systems is desalinated water, suitable
for human¶ consumption and agricultural uses. Analyses have¶ suggested that firstgeneration OTEC plants, in the¶ 1}10MW range, would serve the utility power¶ needs of
rural pacific island communities, with the¶ desalinated water by-product helping to offset
the¶ high cost of electricity produced by the system.
Desalination produces fresh water which solves water wars
FEDERMAN, Reporter at the Associated Press and The Israel Times,
2014
(Josef, “ISRAEL SOLVES WATER WOES WITH DESALINATION,” May 30, Online:
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/israel-solves-water-woes-desalination BH)
Disputes over water have in the past sparked war, and finding a formula for dividing shared
water resources has been one of the "core" issues in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Jack
Gilron, a desalination expert at Ben-Gurion University, said Israel should now use its
expertise to solve regional water problems. "In the end, by everybody having enough water,
we take away one unnecessary reason that there should be conflict," he said. Israel has
already taken some small steps in that direction. Last year, it signed an agreement to
construct a shared desalination plant in Jordan and sell additional water to the Palestinians.
Israel's advances with desalination could help it provide additional water to the
parched West Bank, either through transfers of treated water or by revising existing
arrangements to give the Palestinians a larger share of shared natural sources.
"Desalination, combined with Israel's leadership in wastewater reuse, presents political
opportunities that were not available even five years ago," said Gidon Bromberg, the Israel
director of Friends of the Earth Middle East, an environmental advocacy group. Under
interim peace accords signed two decades ago, Israel controls 80 percent of shared
resources, while Palestinians get just 20 percent. A more equitable deal could remove a
key source of tension, opening the way for addressing other issues, he said.
OTEC produces fresh water.
Websdale, environmental journalist and senior communications
specialist, 2014
(Emma, “The Promise of OTEC Aquaculture,” Empower the Ocean,
Feb. 24, Online: http://empowertheocean.com/otec-aquaculture/ BH)
The condensate of the open and hybrid cycle OTEC¶ systems is desalinated water, suitable
for human¶ consumption and agricultural uses. Analyses have¶ suggested that firstgeneration OTEC plants, in the¶ 1}10MW range, would serve the utility power¶ needs of
rural pacific island communities, with the¶ desalinated water by-product helping to offset
the¶ high cost of electricity produced by the system.
Desalination produces fresh water which solves water wars
FEDERMAN, Reporter at the Associated Press and The Israel Times,
2014
(Josef, “ISRAEL SOLVES WATER WOES WITH DESALINATION,” May 30, Online:
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/israel-solves-water-woes-desalination BH)
Disputes over water have in the past sparked war, and finding a formula for dividing shared
water resources has been one of the "core" issues in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Jack
Gilron, a desalination expert at Ben-Gurion University, said Israel should now use its
expertise to solve regional water problems. "In the end, by everybody having enough water,
we take away one unnecessary reason that there should be conflict," he said. Israel has
already taken some small steps in that direction. Last year, it signed an agreement to
construct a shared desalination plant in Jordan and sell additional water to the Palestinians.
Israel's advances with desalination could help it provide additional water to the
parched West Bank, either through transfers of treated water or by revising existing
arrangements to give the Palestinians a larger share of shared natural sources.
"Desalination, combined with Israel's leadership in wastewater reuse, presents political
opportunities that were not available even five years ago," said Gidon Bromberg, the Israel
director of Friends of the Earth Middle East, an environmental advocacy group. Under
interim peace accords signed two decades ago, Israel controls 80 percent of shared
resources, while Palestinians get just 20 percent. A more equitable deal could remove a
key source of tension, opening the way for addressing other issues, he said.
Water shortages cause water wars
Kolmannskog 8 (Vikram Odedra, April, Norweigan Refugee Council, “Future floods of
refugees: A comment on climate change, conflict and forced migration”,
http://www.nrc.no/arch/_img/9268480.pdf, Accessed 6/28/08)
Water scarcity may trigger distributional conflicts. Water scarcity by itself does not necessarily lead to conflict and
violence, though. There is an interaction with other socio-economic and political factors: The potential for conflict often relates
to social discrimination in terms of access to safe and clean water. The risk can therefore be reduced by ensuring
just distribution so that people in disadvantaged areas also have access to the safe and clean water. As already pointed out, a main
problem today (and probably for the near future) is still the so-called economic water scarcity, and good water
management can prevent conflict. Within states, groups have often defended or challenged
traditional rights of water use: In semi-arid regions such as the Sahel there have been tensions between farmers and nomadic
herders. According to The Stern Review on The Economics of Climate Change,41 the droughts in the Sahel in the 1970s and
1980s may have been caused partly by climate change and contributed to increased competition
for scarce resources between these groups. The Tuareg rebellion in Mali in the beginning of the 1990s, is
also mentioned as an example of a climate change-related conflict. Many of the drought-struck
nomads sought refuge in the cities or left the country. The lack of social networks for the returnees, the
continuing drought, competition for land with the settled farmers and dissatisfaction with
the authorities, were factors that fuelled the armed rebellion. In the past there have been few examples of
“water wars” between states. In fact there are several cases of cooperation (for example between Palestine and Israel), but these have generally
concerned benefit-sharing, not burden-sharing. According to Fred Pearce, the defining crises of the 21st century will involve water.42 He sees
the Six Day War in 1967 between Israel and its neighbours was the first modern “water war”,
specifically over the River Jordan. Most of the world’s major rivers cross international boundaries, but are not covered by treaties. According to
Pearce, this is a recipe for conflict and for upstream users to hold downstream users to ransom. This could be helped by internationally brokered
deals for sharing such rivers.
The two books provide a chilling, in-depth examination of a rapidly emerging global crisis. “Quite simply,” Barlow and Clarke write, “ unless
we dramatically change our ways, between one-half and two-thirds of humanity will be living with severe
fresh water shortages within the next quarter-century. … The hard news is this: Humanity is
depleting, diverting and polluting the planet’s fresh water resources so quickly and relentlessly that
every species on earth—including our own—is in mortal danger.” The crisis is so great, the three authors
agree, that the world’s next great wars will be over water. The Middle East, parts of Africa,
China, Russia, parts of the United States and several other areas are already struggling to
equitably share water resources. Many conflicts over water are not even recognized as such: Shiva blames the IsraeliPalestinian conflict in part on the severe scarcity of water in settlement areas. As available fresh water on the planet
decreases, today’s low-level conflicts can only increase in intensity
Water wars lead to extinction
In These Times 2
(11/11, http://www.inthesetimes.com/issue/26/25/culture1.shtml In These Times is a
nonprofit, independent, national magazine published in Chicago. We’ve been around since
1976, fighting for corporate accountability and progressive government. In other words, a
better world cites environmental thinker and activist Vandana Shiva Maude Barlow and
Tony Clarke—probably North America’s foremost water experts)
The two books provide a chilling, in-depth examination of a rapidly emerging global crisis.
“Quite simply,” Barlow and Clarke write, “unless we dramatically change our ways, between
one-half and two-thirds of humanity will be living with severe fresh water shortages within
the next quarter-century. … The hard news is this: Humanity is depleting, diverting and
polluting the planet’s fresh water resources so quickly and relentlessly that every species on
earth—including our own—is in mortal danger.” The crisis is so great, the three authors
agree, that the world’s next great wars will be over water. The Middle East, parts of Africa,
China, Russia, parts of the United States and several other areas are already struggling to
equitably share water resources. Many conflicts over water are not even recognized as such:
Shiva blames the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in part on the severe scarcity of water in
settlement areas. As available fresh water on the planet decreases, today’s low-level
conflicts can only increase in intensity
Shortages = War
Water Shortages lead to water wars and terrorism
OTE Corporation 7/11/13 (www.otecorporation.com, business that specializes in OTEC technological
development and Sea Water Air Conditioning, “Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion and the Company Bringing it to Market:
Peace for our Children”, http://www.otecorporation.com/ocean-thermal-energy-conversion-and-the-company-bringing-it-tomarket-peace-for-our-children/)
A recent United Nations report partially answers this question in predicting changes to come in just the next dozen years,
“Today, 800
million people live under a threshold of ‘water stress.’ As rivers dry
up, lakes shrink and groundwater reserves get depleted, that figure will rise
up to 3 billion in 2025, especially in parts of Asia and Africa”.¶ An even more sobering
assessment based on a classified National Intelligence Estimate on water security, found
that floods, scarce and poor quality water, combined with poverty and the
effects of climate change will contribute to global instability and conflict in the
coming decades. The report highlighted that the use of water as weapon of
war or tool for terrorism post 2022 would become likely in areas of South
Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
Water shortages cause water wars
Kolmannskog 8 (Vikram Odedra, April, Norweigan Refugee Council, “Future floods of
refugees: A comment on climate change, conflict and forced migration”,
http://www.nrc.no/arch/_img/9268480.pdf, Accessed 6/28/08)
Water scarcity may trigger distributional conflicts. Water scarcity by itself does not necessarily lead to conflict and
violence, though. There is an interaction with other socio-economic and political factors: The potential for conflict often relates
to social discrimination in terms of access to safe and clean water. The risk can therefore be reduced by ensuring
just distribution so that people in disadvantaged areas also have access to the safe and clean water. As already pointed out, a main
problem today (and probably for the near future) is still the so-called economic water scarcity, and good water
management can prevent conflict. Within states, groups have often defended or challenged
traditional rights of water use: In semi-arid regions such as the Sahel there have been tensions between farmers and nomadic
herders. According to The Stern Review on The Economics of Climate Change,41 the droughts in the Sahel in the 1970s and
1980s may have been caused partly by climate change and contributed to increased competition
for scarce resources between these groups. The Tuareg rebellion in Mali in the beginning of the 1990s, is
also mentioned as an example of a climate change-related conflict. Many of the drought-struck
nomads sought refuge in the cities or left the country. The lack of social networks for the returnees, the
continuing drought, competition for land with the settled farmers and dissatisfaction with
the authorities, were factors that fuelled the armed rebellion. In the past there have been few examples of
“water wars” between states. In fact there are several cases of cooperation (for example between Palestine and Israel), but these have generally
concerned benefit-sharing, not burden-sharing. According to Fred Pearce, the defining crises of the 21st century will involve water.42 He sees
the Six Day War in 1967 between Israel and its neighbours was the first modern “water war”,
specifically over the River Jordan. Most of the world’s major rivers cross international boundaries, but are not covered by treaties. According to
Pearce, this is a recipe for conflict and for upstream users to hold downstream users to ransom. This could be helped by internationally brokered
deals for sharing such rivers.
The two books provide a chilling, in-depth examination of a rapidly emerging global crisis. “Quite simply,” Barlow and Clarke write, “ unless
we dramatically change our ways, between one-half and two-thirds of humanity will be living with severe
fresh water shortages within the next quarter-century. … The hard news is this: Humanity is
depleting, diverting and polluting the planet’s fresh water resources so quickly and relentlessly that
every species on earth—including our own—is in mortal danger.” The crisis is so great, the three authors
agree, that the world’s next great wars will be over water. The Middle East, parts of Africa,
China, Russia, parts of the United States and several other areas are already struggling to
equitably share water resources. Many conflicts over water are not even recognized as such: Shiva blames the IsraeliPalestinian conflict in part on the severe scarcity of water in settlement areas. As available fresh water on the planet
decreases, today’s low-level conflicts can only increase in intensity.
Water wars lead to extinction
In These Times 2
(11/11, http://www.inthesetimes.com/issue/26/25/culture1.shtml In These Times is a
nonprofit, independent, national magazine published in Chicago. We’ve been around since
1976, fighting for corporate accountability and progressive government. In other words, a
better world cites environmental thinker and activist Vandana Shiva Maude Barlow and
Tony Clarke—probably North America’s foremost water experts)
The two books provide a chilling, in-depth examination of a rapidly emerging global crisis.
“Quite simply,” Barlow and Clarke write, “unless we dramatically change our ways, between
one-half and two-thirds of humanity will be living with severe fresh water shortages within
the next quarter-century. … The hard news is this: Humanity is depleting, diverting and
polluting the planet’s fresh water resources so quickly and relentlessly that every species on
earth—including our own—is in mortal danger.” The crisis is so great, the three authors
agree, that the world’s next great wars will be over water. The Middle East, parts of Africa,
China, Russia, parts of the United States and several other areas are already struggling to
equitably share water resources. Many conflicts over water are not even recognized as such:
Shiva blames the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in part on the severe scarcity of water in
settlement areas. As available fresh water on the planet decreases, today’s low-level
conflicts can only increase in intensity
**Hydrogen Economy**
Hydrogen Advantage/Add-on
Hydrogen fuel cells have clean emissions – only water vapor
Smithsonian Institute No Date – world’s largest museum and research complex [“Fuel Cell Basics”
Smithsonian Institute, http://americanhistory.si.edu/fuelcells/basics.htm, accessed 7/17/14] JW
There are several kinds of fuel cells, and each operates a bit differently. But in general terms,
hydrogen atoms enter a fuel cell at the anode where a chemical reaction strips them of their
electrons. The hydrogen atoms are now "ionized," and carry a positive electrical charge. The
negatively charged electrons provide the current through wires to do work. If alternating current
(AC) is needed, the DC output of the fuel cell must be routed through a conversion device called an
inverter.¶ Oxygen enters the fuel cell at the cathode and, in some cell types (like the one illustrated
above), it there combines with electrons returning from the electrical circuit and hydrogen ions that
have traveled through the electrolyte from the anode. In other cell types the oxygen picks up
electrons and then travels through the electrolyte to the anode, where it combines with hydrogen
ions.¶ The electrolyte plays a key role. It must permit only the appropriate ions to pass between the
anode and cathode. If free electrons or other substances could travel through the electrolyte, they
would disrupt the chemical reaction.¶ Whether they combine at anode or cathode, together hydrogen
and oxygen form water, which drains from the cell. As long as a fuel cell is supplied with hydrogen
and oxygen, it will generate electricity.¶ Even better, since fuel cells create electricity chemically,
rather than by combustion, they are not subject to the thermodynamic laws that limit a conventional
power plant (see "Carnot Limit" in the glossary). Therefore, fuel cells are more efficient in extracting
energy from a fuel. Waste heat from some cells can also be harnessed, boosting system efficiency still
further.
Hydrogen fuels cells are clean AND reliable
NCSL No Date – national organization founded by legislative leaders that supports, defends, and strengthens state
legislature [National Conference of State Legislature, “Fuel Cells – Clean and Reliable Energy”
http://www.ncsl.org/research/energy/fuel-cells-clean-and-reliable-energy.aspx, accessed 7/17/14] JW
Fuel cells can provide a clean, consistent source of electricity and can be easily
relied on as a sole power source, unlike some other renewable energy sources, such
as solar energy and wind power. Many states do not promote their development as
aggressively as other renewable energy technologies, and their cost remains
somewhat high. Fuel cells convert energy from a fuel (usually hydrogen) into
electricity, and advances in technology are bringing down costs. Fuel cells can use
hydrogen produced from renewable electricity sources or be powered by other
fuels, such as natural gas. They are basically emission-free, quiet and efficient, and
very reliable. Although they remain expensive, a 30 percent federal tax credit
combined with state incentives reduces purchase costs.¶ Fuel cells serve as both
standby and primary power sources. As backup in the event of electric grid failure,
they can start quickly and are very reliable. Costs are higher than traditional backup
power, but fuel cells can generate more energy than diesel generators, are emissionfree and far more efficient. Fuel cells can also meet daily needs and provide
consistent, high-quality power regardless of electric grid disruptions.
Clean energies key to solve warming
NRDC No Date – one of nation’s most powerful environmental groups [National Resources Defense Council, “The
Rio+20 Earth Summit” http://www.nrdc.org/international/rio-2012/cleanenergy.asp, accessed 7/17/14] JW
To address global warming, we must accelerate development of clean energy, improve energy
efficiency and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. We must also find new ways to reduce
greenhouse gases. To do so, leaders at Rio must take action to:¶ Phase Down Fossil Fuel Subsidies¶
Countries are providing nearly $1 trillion in subsidies each year to the fossil fuel industry. This is 12
times more than the renewable energy industry gets. Eliminating subsidies for oil, gas, coal and other
fossil fuels would make a significant dent in curbing global warming pollution. For example,
eliminating just the subsidies for consumption would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by almost 5
percent by 2020 – 1.7 gigatonnes of CO2. Fossil fuel subsidies drain public resources, drive global
warming, and make it harder for clean energy to compete.
OTEC produces hydrogen, solves
OTEC has the ability to produce hydrogen and jumpstart the hydrogen
economy
OTEC 14 (Ocean Thermal Energy Cooperation 2014, “Future Initiatives”
http://www.otecorporation.com/future_strategic_initiatives.html)
Hydrogen Production Hydrogen is among the greatest of possible sources to meet the
world’s rapidly expanding energy demands. The capacity of this abundant natural
resource to potentially transform and sustain the international transportation industry is
truly staggering. Proven methods of electrolysis generally entail passing an electric current
through water (H2O) to split the molecule into its component parts of oxygen (O2) and
hydrogen gas (H2). As water itself comprises one of the most plentiful natural
resources on our planet, tapping into this enormous reserve is an area justifying
diligent research. Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation is proud to be part of such research
in its committed efforts to solve global energy challenges. The proven scientific process of
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), involving large quantities of deep ocean water,
is a perfect match for integrated research into the potential hydrogen economy. With
hydrogen as one of the most attractive and versatile transportable forms of energy, the
huge reservoir of this resource in the world’s tropical oceans signifies the potential of
OTEC facilities to include hydrogen production. At Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation,
we not only imagine a day where a global fleet of energy-harvesting OTEC plantships
grazing the earth’s tropical oceans could supply the majority of the world’s energy needs via
hydrogen, we are working to make that vision a reality.
OTEC produces hydrogen and stuff
AVERY, RICHARDS, and DUGGER, 1985
(“HYDROGEN GENERATION BY OTEC ELECTROLYSIS, AND ECONOMICAL ENERGY TRANSFER TO WORLD MARKETS VIA
AMMONIA AND METHANOL,” http://ac.els-cdn.com/0360319985901089/1-s2.0-0360319985901089main.pdf?_tid=3b19881c-0e13-11e4-936f-00000aab0f6b&acdnat=1405643828_9147123bed41e60f49ebcc436cc49512 BH)
OTEC plantships sited in tropical oceans would generate 150--400 MWe (net) of low-cost
electric power¶ per plantship. These plantships would tap a virtually unlimited source of
energy for economical production of¶ hydrogen by water electrolysis. Hydrogen could
be delivered to U.S. users from such plantships via hydrogen¶ liquefaction,
transport and storage, or by incorporation in a chemical carrier and shipment by
conventional¶ transport methods. Costs of OTEC energy in the form of liquid fuels
delivered to U.S. users are estimated to be¶ favorable compared with equivalents derived
from land-based sources
**Plankton**
OTEC stimulates plankton growth—that removes CO2 from the
atmosphere
Muralidharan 12 (Shylesh Muralidharan, B. Tech. Mechanical Engineering, Pondicherry
University, 1998, Master of Management Studies, University of Mumbai, 2001, Submitted to
the System Design and Management Program, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the Degree of Master of Science in Engineering and Management at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, February 2012, “Assessment of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion”
http://dw.crackmypdf.com/0744224001401970561/824363276.pdf, jj)
OTEC helps with artificial upwelling of the ocean water - a process which imitates natural
upwelling responsible for the most productive marine environments on the planet - to
fertilize surface ocean waters which are deficient in nutrients. This process will stimulate
the food chain by increasing the growth of plankton. The increased plankton can be used to
increase the stock of fish in these nutrient-rich waters. This process helps to relocate
nutrient-rich water from the deep of the ocean to the surface and uses energy from the sun
to create fish biomass for the world. There are several positive side effects from this type of
marine farming. For example, the increased biomass of phytoplankton as a result of marine
farming will also help remove carbon CO2 from the atmosphere and reduce global warming,
notwithstanding the fact that it is a perturbation to the natural system with potential of
unintended consequences.
**Warming**
OTEC Solves Warming
OTEC solves warming – reduces temperature, eliminates C02 emissions,
and increases C02 absorption
Curto ’10 (Dr. Paul, former NASA Chief Technologist, “American Energy Policy V -Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion,” 12/15/2010,
http://www.opednews.com/articles/American-Energy-Policy-V--by-Paul-fromPotomac-101214-315.html)
OTEC is a true triple threat against global warming. It is the only technology that acts to
directly reduce the temperature of the ocean (it was estimated one degree Fahrenheit
reduction every twenty years for 10,000 250 MWe plants in '77), eliminates carbon
emissions, and increases carbon dioxide absorption (cooler water absorbs more CO2) at
the same time. It generates fuel that is portable and efficient, electricity for coastal areas if it
is moored, and possibly food from the nutrients brought up from the ocean floor. It creates
jobs, perhaps millions of them, if it is the serious contender for the future multi-trilliondollar energy economy. ¶ In concert with wind and solar power, OTEC will complete the
conversion of the human race to a balance with Nature. We need only choose life over
convenience.¶ Some folks know that I've been a proponent of ocean power since the late
'70s. Rummaging through old stuff on the internet, I found this ancient photo of me in Miami
in 1977, on a panel discussing OTEC. This may have been the first time that OTEC was
discussed in public in terms of global warming.¶ Oddly enough, the concern was that we
might cause an Ice Age!¶ We should be more worried about global warming upsetting
the ocean currents by overheating the ocean, which is now happening at an alarming
rate. The latest guess is +5C (9F) by 2100!¶ This technology may be deployed as a means to
bring the ocean back into balance, not to upset it.¶ The designs for these OTEC ships have
features that are quite innovative and cost effective. Estimates range from $3000 to $6000
per kWe installed in 2010 dollars, depending on the configuration and proximity to shore.
The capacity factor should be close to 100%, especially with the modular designs for the
power modules. This means that OTEC annual power production will average three
times that of solar and wind per unit of power capacity. Gulf plants may be moored in
deep water and connected directly to the grid, bypassing the ammonia step. Tropical ships
may graze from site to site and perform stationkeeping to stay in place when it's
advantageous to do so. One design called for neutrally buoyant hulls to allow for
submerging the ship in the event of any major storm to levels below the wave action zone.
The major expenses are for the heat exchangers (titanium alloys or aluminum), cold water
pipe, and ammonia production/electrical generation and transmission facilities.¶ The heat
would be dumped into the cold water stream, which cools the condenser and is ejected
below the thermocline so that the water would not release its CO2 content except to the
colder surrounding water at depth, where the CO2 would remain sequestered. The ocean
bottom waters are at 1 to 3 degrees Celsius everywhere year round, at depths over 1000
meters, while the seas average over 4000 meters in depth worldwide. This is the source of
cooling water for OTEC. CO2 is dissolved in water at cold temperatures, and the ocean
depths hold over 98% of the world's CO2 sequestered in solution. It's cold below 1000 m
depth everywhere, even at the equator. In Hawaii, the cold water we brought to the surface
chilled our beer to 34 F. It was 90 F outside. The warmer water used for the evaporator
would be ejected near the surface where it came from and would mix in the ship's wake.¶
Biofouling would be handled with chlorination or ozonation, probably the latter in the
tropics version. Periodic flushing would be part of the routine, and automated. The cleaning
technique is used on most iron ships on the high seas for over a century. If we build over
20000 OTEC plants (each about the size of the nearly 7000 oil platforms in the Gulf of
Mexico) deployed in the tropics, we could generate 5000 GWe of power and reduce the
surface water temperature by 1C each decade. OTEC kills two birds with one stone: It
generates power for the planet and stops global warming. I was aboard OTEC-1 during
its shakedown tests off the big island in Hawaii in 1979.
Energy is Storable
Power generated with OTEC is storable
Masutani and Takahashi, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 01
(“OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION,”
http://curry.eas.gatech.edu/Courses/6140/ency/Chapter2/Ency_Oceans/OTEC.pdf BH)
Although the most common scenario is for OTEC¶ energy to be converted into electricity and
delivered¶ directly to consumers, energy storage has been considered¶ as an alternative,
particularly in applications¶ involving floating plants moored far offshore. Storage¶ would
also allow the export of OTEC energy to¶ industrialized regions outside of the tropics.
Longterm¶ proposals have included the production of¶ hydrogen gas via electrolysis,
ammonia synthesis,¶ and the development of shore-based mariculture¶ systems or floating
OTEC plant-ships as oceangoing¶ farms. Such farms would cultivate marine¶ biomass, for
example, in the form of fast-growing¶ kelp, which could be converted thermochemically¶
into fuel and chemical co-products.
**Hydrogen**
Hydrogen fuel cells bad
Water vapor worse than CO2 as a GHG
Hansen 08 – writer for NASA [Kathryn, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, “Water Vapor Confirmed as
Major Player in Climate Change” http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/vapor_warming.html, 11/7/08, accessed
7/17/14] JW
Water vapor is known to be Earth’s most abundant greenhouse gas, but the extent of its contribution
to global warming has been debated. Using recent NASA satellite data, researchers have estimated
more precisely than ever the heat-trapping effect of water in the air, validating the role of the gas as a
critical component of climate change.¶ Andrew Dessler and colleagues from Texas A&M University in
College Station confirmed that the heat-amplifying effect of water vapor is potent enough to double
the climate warming caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. ¶ With new
observations, the scientists confirmed experimentally what existing climate models had anticipated
theoretically. The research team used novel data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on
NASA’s Aqua satellite to measure precisely the humidity throughout the lowest 10 miles of the
atmosphere. That information was combined with global observations of shifts in temperature,
allowing researchers to build a comprehensive picture of the interplay between water vapor, carbon
dioxide, and other atmosphere-warming gases. The NASA-funded research was published recently in
the American Geophysical Union's Geophysical Research Letters.¶ "Everyone agrees that if you add
carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, then warming will result,” Dessler said. “So the real question is,
how much warming?" ¶ The answer can be found by estimating the magnitude of water vapor
feedback. Increasing water vapor leads to warmer temperatures, which causes more water vapor to
be absorbed into the air. Warming and water absorption increase in a spiraling cycle.
Water vapor feedback exacerbates warming – vicious cycle
Hansen 08 – writer for NASA [Kathryn, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, “Water Vapor Confirmed as
Major Player in Climate Change” http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/vapor_warming.html, 11/7/08, accessed
7/17/14] JW
"Everyone agrees that if you add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, then warming will result,”
Dessler said. “So the real question is, how much warming?" ¶ The answer can be found by estimating
the magnitude of water vapor feedback. Increasing water vapor leads to warmer temperatures,
which causes more water vapor to be absorbed into the air. Warming and water absorption increase
in a spiraling cycle.¶ Water vapor feedback can also amplify the warming effect of other greenhouse
gases, such that the warming brought about by increased carbon dioxide allows more water vapor to
enter the atmosphere.¶ "The difference in an atmosphere with a strong water vapor feedback and
one with a weak feedback is enormous," Dessler said.
Water vapor traps MASSIVE amounts of energy/heat, proliferates
warming even more
Hansen 08 – writer for NASA [Kathryn, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, “Water Vapor Confirmed as
Major Player in Climate Change” http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/vapor_warming.html, 11/7/08, accessed
7/17/14] JW
Climate models have estimated the strength of water vapor feedback, but until now the record of
water vapor data was not sophisticated enough to provide a comprehensive view of at how water
vapor responds to changes in Earth's surface temperature. That's because instruments on the ground
and previous space-based could not measure water vapor at all altitudes in Earth's troposphere -- the
layer of the atmosphere that extends from Earth's surface to about 10 miles in altitude.¶ ¶ AIRS is the
first instrument to distinguish differences in the amount of water vapor at all altitudes within the
troposphere. Using data from AIRS, the team observed how atmospheric water vapor reacted to
shifts in surface temperatures between 2003 and 2008. By determining how humidity changed with
surface temperature, the team could compute the average global strength of the water vapor
feedback. ¶ ¶ “This new data set shows that as surface temperature increases, so does atmospheric
humidity,” Dessler said. “Dumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere makes the atmosphere
more humid. And since water vapor is itself a greenhouse gas, the increase in humidity amplifies the
warming from carbon dioxide."¶ ¶ Specifically, the team found that if Earth warms 1.8 degrees
Fahrenheit, the associated increase in water vapor will trap an extra 2 Watts of energy per square
meter (about 11 square feet).¶ ¶ "That number may not sound like much, but add up all of that
energy over the entire Earth surface and you find that water vapor is trapping a lot of energy,"
Dessler said. "We now think the water vapor feedback is extraordinarily strong, capable of doubling
the warming due to carbon dioxide alone."¶ ¶ Because the new precise observations agree with
existing assessments of water vapor's impact, researchers are more confident than ever in model
predictions that Earth's leading greenhouse gas will contribute to a temperature rise of a few degrees
by the end of the century.
AT: Biofouling
Biofouling Tech Already Developed
Cohen 10 (Robert, PhD, consultant on ocean thermal energy, Senior Program Officer @
Energy Engineering Board at National Academy of Sciences. Program Manager of ocean
thermal energy R&D @ DOE, physicist at U.S. National Bureau of Standards, then ESSA, then
NOAA; 2/22/10, Energy Trends Insider, “Response to Comments re Ocean Thermal Energy
Posted on the R-Squared Energy Blog,”, 7/18/14, AC)
To meet power-engineering requirements, design of the heat exchangers must address
biofouling, the buildup of a layer of ocean organisms on surfaces exposed to seawater.
Formation of such a slime film on the heat exchanger surfaces inhibits heat transfer, hence
prevention or removal of biofouling deposits is required. Similarly, the corrosion of the heat
exchanger surfaces would inhibit heat transfer and must be avoided. In view of their lower
costs and greater availability, aluminum alloys that can resist seawater corrosion are
attractive candidate materials in comparison to titanium alloys. Open-ocean testing of the
biofouling of candidate heat exchangers rated at 1 MWe was conducted aboard OTEC-1, the
test facility for ocean thermal system components. As part of those tests, biofouling was
controlled (Gavin & Kuzay, 1981) primarily by chlorination; i.e., injection of chlorine into
the evaporator and condenser. The rate of intermittent injection was 0.4 mg per liter during
one hour out of each 24-hour period that the seawater systems were in operation. Even
with stringent environmental regulations, it is anticipated that chlorination levels in the
discharge can be designed so as to comply with those regulations. Indeed, use of
intermittent chlorination within EPA standards has already proved successful in controlling
biofouling in the condensers used in conventional coastal power plants, hence that
technique is a likely means for performing the same function in ocean thermal plants.
Fortunately, during the 28-year lapse since DOE ocean-thermal R&D funding began to be
curtailed in 1981, the offshore oil industry has made some remarkable technological
advancements in designing and operating ocean structures, much of which will be relevant
to the above technical requirements for ocean thermal systems. Consequently, many of the
perceived and actual risks of moving forward today have been considerably reduced, thanks
to the innovations and experience of that industry. At the annual Offshore Technology
Conference held in Houston in 2009, a panel session reviewing the status of ocean thermal
technology was attended by some key people from the offshore oil industry.
More Aff Stuff (cuz its cool)
OTEC Uniquely Key
Typical desalination methods require too much electricity to be feasible
– Texas proves.
Zerrenner 14 Kate Zerrenner, Collaborates with key stakeholders and legislative sponsors on passage of clean
energy legislation and Participates in Energy Efficiency Implementation Project at the PUC of Texas, “Desalination Can Help Us
Solve Our Water Woes, But Not Without Clean Energy”, http://blogs.edf.org/texascleanairmatters/2014/05/12/desalinationcan-help-solve-our-water-woes-but-not-without-clean-energy/
As drought continues to grip Texas and many other Western states, one of the solutions
often discussed (and pursued) to overcome water scarcity is desalination. Simply put,
desalination, or desal as it is most commonly called, is a process that removes salt and other
minerals from salty (brackish) or seawater to produce freshwater for drinking and
agriculture. This technology seems like a no-brainer option for addressing the state’s water
woes, but the problem is that desalination uses a lot of electricity and the majority of
Texas’ electricity comes from coal and gas power plants, which require copious
amounts of water to generate that electricity. It doesn’t make much sense to use water to
make water, especially when there’s an alternative in Texas’ abundant renewable energy
resources. Texas is the national leader in wind energy and has the greatest solar energy
potential in the U.S., yet neither of these resources are being widely deployed for desal
plants despite recent studies pointing to vast opportunities. Not only do these energy
resources produce negligible carbon emissions, but they also consume little to no water,
unlike fossil-fueled power plants. Furthermore, if we look at where brackish water sources
are located compared to where the wind and solar energy potential is in this state, the
overlap is pretty clear. This synergy should not be ignored.
Water Scarcity Now
Water stress now.
Oney 13 Dr. Steve Oney, Chief Science Advisor for Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation and has over 25 years of
extensive experience in ocean engineering, “Ocean Thermal Energy and Water Production”,
http://empowertheocean.com/ocean-thermal-energy-water-production/
In the United States alone, each person consumes an average of 400 liters of fresh water per
day. That is more than 87 gallons daily per U.S. citizen. By contrast, in other western
countries, the consumption level reaches only 150 liters per day. Some countries in Africa
have daily consumption rates as low as 20 liters, which is at the World Health
Organization’s recommended lower limit for individual survival. When considering
infrastructure and communal needs such as those of schools and hospitals, the necessary
level is more than doubled to 50 liters per person per day. With the rising global population,
industrialization of developing nations and overall increase in quality of life throughout
most parts of the world, fresh water consumption levels are rising rapidly. Approximately
67% of the world’s population will be water stressed by 2025, as reported by the UN.
According to the United Nations Atlas of the Oceans, more than 44% of the world’s
inhabitants live within 150 kilometers of the coast. In the United States, this is true for 53%
of the population. In another 30 years, it is estimated that over 70% of the global population
will be coastal. The crowding of the population in limited areas inevitably leads to
overexploitation of regional resources including fresh water. Given the number of people
within access of the coast and the sea, it is naturally advantageous to turn to the ocean for
adequate fresh water supplies. Over 75% of the world’s desalinated water capacity is used
by the Middle East and North Africa according to the USGS. The United States is one of the
most important industrialized countries in terms of desalinated water consumption at
about 6.5%. California and Florida are the major consumers of desalinated water in the US.
Additionally, populated areas struck by natural disasters are faced with a great need to
quickly supply potable water to the victims for drinking, cooking and sanitation purposes.
In industrialized nations, the existing freshwater infrastructure is often damaged during a
disaster or contaminated to the point that it is unusable in the immediate recovery period.
In developing nations, freshwater infrastructure might be entirely absent, making the
acquisition and distribution of potable water all the more difficult.
Desalination Solvency
OTEC solves water scarcity – desalination.
Oney 13 Dr. Steve Oney, Chief Science Advisor for Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation and has over 25 years of
extensive experience in ocean engineering, “Ocean Thermal Energy and Water Production”,
http://empowertheocean.com/ocean-thermal-energy-water-production/
The environmental impact of desalinating seawater is quite high when using fossil fuels.
Replacing the energy supply with a renewable energy source, such as OTEC, eliminates the
pollution caused by fossil fuels and other problems associated with the use of fossil fuels to
produce potable water. Greater self-sufficiency is also achieved through the use of a readily
available source of energy like OTEC, making it unnecessary to rely on increasingly
expensive fossil fuels imported from often unstable or unfriendly countries. In the last two
decades, rising fossil fuel prices and technical advances in the offshore oil industry, many of
which are applicable to deep cold water pipe technology for OTEC, mean that small (520MW) land-based OTEC plants can now be built with off-the-shelf components, with
minimal technology/engineering risks for plant construction and operation. In fact, the
authoritative US Government agency NOAA issued a 2009 report concluding that, using a
single cold water pipe (CWP), a 10MW OTEC plant is now “technically feasible using current
design, manufacturing, deployment techniques and materials.” These two historic changes
have now made OTEC electricity pricing increasingly competitive, particularly in tropical
island countries where electricity prices, based almost entirely on imported fossil fuels, are
currently in the exorbitant range of 30-60 cents/kwh. Adding potable water production to
the equation only further improves the economic attractiveness of this technology’s unique
symbiosis between clean reliable energy and fresh water. With the growing global need for
potable water, the lack of available fresh water sources, increasing concentration of
populations in coastal regions, and rising energy prices, pairing potable water production
with baseload (24/7) renewable energy from the sea is a natural fit.