The purpose of the paper is to serve as a review of current research and development ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) projects and other activities in the United States. The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Department of Energy funded a number of OTEC pro...
The purpose of the paper is to serve as a review of current research and development ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) projects and other activities in the United States. The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Department of Energy funded a number of OTEC projects primarily from Fiscal Year 2008 ? 2010; and since 2008, there has been over $20 M invested in OTEC technology development from the Federal Government. Major research and development projects include: system designs for OTEC pilot facilities, an onshore heat exchanger test facility, cold water pipe susbsystem component developments, OTEC resource assessments, and potential environmental impacts (e.g., biological impacts from OTEC discharge plumes and intake pipes). There have also been private indsutry advancements from OTEC companies pursuing commericial OTEC systems in Hawai’i and abroad.