Abstract
The 30 cm diameter deep seawater supply system ("The 12-in System") at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii (NELH) at Keahole Point has been operating continuously since August 1982. The commercial potential of many projects which have used the cold, nutrient rich, clean seawater for research and demonstration projects at NELH has led to the installation of four new deep seawater systems since June 1987. Ocean Farms Hawaii (OFH - formerly Hawaiian Abalone Farms) has deployed two 38 cm pipelines, the State of Hawaii has deployed a 45 cm backup pipeline, and a 1 m pipeline now serves both the State's Hawaii Ocean Science and Technology (HOST) Park adjacent to NELH, and ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) research sponsored at NELH's Seacoast Test Facility (STF) by the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research (PICHTR). This last system also includes a surface seawater supply for the OTEC research. All of the deep systems supply seawater through high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe from approximately 600 m depth. Various design options have been employed for the pipeline deployments and for the pumping systems. These new systems bring the total deep seawater supply capacity at Keahole Point to about 1.3 m^3/s and the surface supply capacity to about .71 m^3/s. The deep seawater is used for a wide range of projects, including closed- and open-cycle OTEC research; aquaculture of abalone, nori (the seaweed used for wrapping Japanese sushi), microalgae, Maine lobster, salmon, oysters, sea urchins, flounder, and opihi; air conditioning of laboratory buildings; production of cold freshwater condensate for temperate climate agriculture (e.g. strawberries, asparagus and alstroemeria flowers) in the tropics; and industrial process cooling.