[Publication] Using Sea Water of Heating, Cooling, and Power Production

Cover page with KRISO OTEC Barge

The International Energy Agency’s Technology Collaboration Programme on Ocean Energy Systems (IEA-OES) has published today six interviews which give a flavour of successful projects in different parts of the world taking advantage of the temperature of the ocean for heating, cooling and power production.

These interviews focus on Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) demonstration plants, Sea Water Air Conditioning (SWAC) and Sea Water Heat Pump (SWHP) systems, sharing experiences, challenges, and lessons learned:

  • Okinawa OTEC Demonstration Facility by Benjamin Martin, Project Manager at Xenesys
  • Makai Ocean Engineering’s OTEC power plant in Hawaii by Hermann Kugeler, Vice President of Business Development at Makai Ocean Engineering
  • 1 MW OTEC power plant developed by KRISO for installation at the Republic of Kiribati by Dr. Hyeon-Ju Kim, Principal Researcher at KRISO
  • SWAC project of the French Polynesian Hospital in Tahiti, by Cathy Tang, Project Manager at SDE- Energy Service of French Polynesia
  • Seawater heat pump system in Monaco by Pierre Bardy, Director at SMEG, Monaco  
  • Thassalia power station on France’s southern coast by Patrick Berardi, General Director of Thassalia, at ENGIE Solutions France.

Commenting on these projects, Yann-Hervé De Roeck, Chairman of the IEA-OES said “With growing cities on the shore worldwide and the huge thermodynamical asset of seawater temperature to damp the global warming, now is the time to gather the first feedback from the quasi-direct use of this enormous potential: from air conditioning and heat networks to electricity generation. Our interviewees gave convincing answers that should inspire our decision makers and encourage developers”.

Link to Publication: https://www.ocean-energy-systems.org/publications/oes-documents/market-policy-/document/using-sea-water-for-heating-cooling-and-power-production/

Ocean Energy Systems (OES)

Ocean Energy Systems (OES) is also known as the ‘Technology Collaboration Programme on Ocean Energy Systems’ under the International Energy Agency (IEA). It is an intergovernmental collaboration between countries, which operates under a framework established by the International Energy Agency in Paris. Presently, the OES has 23 member countries with a number of other observer countries in the process of joining. The OES connects organisations and individuals working in the ocean energy sector to accelerate the viability, uptake and acceptance of ocean energy systems in an environmentally acceptable manner. The work of the OES covers all forms of energy generation in which sea water forms the motive power through its physical and chemical properties, i.e. wave, tidal range, tidal and ocean currents, ocean thermal energy conversion and salinity gradients.

The OES international co-operation facilitates:

  • Securing access to advanced R&D teams in the participating countries;
  • Developing a harmonized set of measures and testing protocols for the testing of prototypes;
  • Reducing national costs by collaborating internationally;
  • Creating valuable international contacts between government, industry and science;
  • Sharing information and networking.