Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion: An Extensive, Environmentally Benign Source of Energy for the Future

Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) has been shown to work at research scales, and plans are underway to build pilot scale plants. Private sector developers will probably be unwilling to make the enormous initial investment required by the inherent large scale of commercial OTEC, until the price of fossil fuels increases dramatically and/or governments provide suitable financial incentives. If, however, the pilot scale plants now being planned for some expensive-energy niche markets are successful in demonstrating low cost long-term operation, OTEC will be much more financially attractive. It offers tremendous potential for reducing man’s input of CO2 into our atmosphere, and the development should not be further delayed.