Energy Sources
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion
OH-teck (as the acronym OTEC)
Also Known As OTEC
Prospective
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A renewable technology that uses the temperature difference between warm surface seawater and deep cold water to run a heat engine and generate steady electricity. It is workable mainly in tropical waters where that difference stays above 20 degrees Celsius year round, and despite decades of study no commercial-scale plant yet operates; in the United States, NOAA is the licensing authority for such facilities.
Facts
Source ClassRenewable, prospective at commercial scale 1 First Commercial YearGeorges Claude built a 22 kilowatt experimental OTEC plant at Matanzas Bay, Cuba in 1930; it consumed more power than it generated and OTEC has not reached wide commercial deployment since. Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. NOAA Office for Coastal Management
National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationOcean Thermal Energy ConversionQuote, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion
The development of OTEC technology has promise in tropical areas, where year-round temperature differences between the deep cold and warm surface waters are greater than 20 degrees Celsius (36 degrees Fahrenheit).
2. Marine Technology News
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, Renewable Energy from the SeaQuote, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, Renewable Energy from the Sea
Georges Claude, built the first OTEC power plant in 1930 in Cuba, which produced 22 kilowatts of electricity.
2. Marine Technology News
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