New Power Plant Produces Both Energy & Fresh Water

joshmccormack writes "An article in Sunday's New York Times (Free Reg, mah peeps) tells of how Japanese scientists have found a way to make fresh water and energy from temperature differences in ocean water. This may change the rules of what land is considered habitable, and the value of energy." Fascinating stuff, next step is rumored to be beer and power.

Comments

There is one OTEC plant in Kona, Hawaii

[g.a.g]

FP? Anyway, I've visited that type of plant (OTEC, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion) already in Hawaii (near Kona), where there is one running since quite some years. One problem is that it only works for steep ocean wall drop offs, since otherwise the pipe is getting too long.

It uses about half of the created energy (through a normal Carnot cycle) for pumping (about 120kW). The other half is not quite competetive, but with the nutrient rich and cool water, fish farming and air conditioning can be done, heaving the whole investment to a black zero (or better).

I leave the exercise of finding the link to a Karma-hungry reader.

Interesting Idea

[ItaliaMatt]

Having lived on a island in the south pacific for a year I learned how important fresh water is. The aircraft landing strip that we had acted as a big water collector - water would drain into pipes and then was cleaned by a chlorination process. The idea they propose is a good one and would work in many islands out there - where they desperately need easy access to electricity and fresh water.

Ecological Impact

[soundofthemoon]

Bringing cold water from the depths has an unmentioned potential side-effect. Will it be replaced by warmer water from elsewhere? Cold, deep waters often support amazingly rich ecosystems. Raising the temperature even a few degrees could easily destroy entrie habitats. Will these generators warm the depths, and what effect will that have on the deep ecosystems?

Re:Before we get carried away

[Troed]

And before you start jeering and making stupid jokes about it, remember that only 30 years ago the idea that human pollution could affect our athmosphere and the seas, was regarded as utter nonsense and hysteria.

It still is. As it turns out in reality, the 20th century was the one with the least chaotic "earth weather" and we now try to use _that_ as a baseline for "how it should be".

It won't work. The earth has a weathersystem totally independent of what us tiny humans do. Read up on the "small ice age" just a few hundred years ago, or where the "dark middle ages" got the nickname from.

"Global warming" is a myth. A popular one, but a myth nonetheless. "Global cooling" - which was popular a few centuries ago - is actually more likely to happen.