Dossier Océan et énergie - Énergie Thermique des Mers

Sommaire IOA News Letters

COMMERCIAL OTEC FOR POTABLE WATER

by
Robert Flynn
OTEC Developments
U.S.A.

We formed a business with the sole purpose to commercialize OTEC technology.  We believe that the time is now with low interest rates and proven component technology to take the risk to build a truly commercial OTEC facility.  Our focus will be on potable water as the primary product which alone justifies the construction and operation of the OTEC facility.

The technology is well known and documented in the literature, hence the main focus of this talk will be on the business and market questions that must be answered to make such a facility profitable.

The customer is the local utility company so we discuss the various problems in dealing with this customer. The selection of the site demands detailed seasonal ocean data and knowledge of the distribution system.  We discuss our experience in the Caribbean and the methods used to obtain some of this data.  From this island specific data, we highlight some of the engineering questions and build a workable business scenario for building and operating the first commercial OTEC desalination facility.

Finally, we will answer the question of what's new and why we feel that a commercial OTEC facility will soon become a reality.