What is ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC)?
Q: What is ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC)?
A: It is a way of getting useful energy from the world's oceans by using the temperature difference between warm surface water and cold deep water to generate power.
Q: What causes the temperature difference in the ocean?
A: The sun shines on the oceans of the world and heats up the water near the surface, while the water at around 1,000 meters deep can be much colder.
Q: How is the temperature difference harnessed to generate power?
A: The warm water is brought to the surface along with the cold water using a pipe, and the heat engine uses the temperature difference to generate power.
Q: Is the temperature difference between warm surface water and cold deep water significant?
A: The temperature difference may only be around 15 °C, but it can still be used to generate power through an OTEC machine.
Q: What is the potential of OTEC compared to other ocean energy sources?
A: OTEC has been estimated to give amounts of energy that are 10 to 100 times greater than wave power, another ocean energy source.
Q: What are some other benefits of OTEC besides energy generation?
A: OTEC can produce quantities of cold water that can be used for refrigeration and to help crops and fish grow. It can also produce large amounts of salt-free water which can be used as drinking water on mid-ocean islands.
Q: When was the first OTEC machine built and how much electricity did it generate?
A: The first OTEC machine was built in Cuba in 1930 and made 22 kW of electricity.
