World's Largest Ocean Thermal Power Plant Planned For China

cylonlover writes "Lockheed Martin has been getting its feet wet in the renewable energy game for some time. In the 1970s it helped build the world's first successful floating Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) system that generated net power, and in 2009 it was awarded a contract to develop an OTEC pilot plant in Hawaii. That project has apparently been canceled but the company has now shifted its OTEC sights westward by teaming up with Hong Kong-based Reignwood Group to co-develop a 10 MW pilot plant that will be built off the coast of southern China."

Comments

Re:And anybody who complains about the unsightly v

[ShanghaiBill]

This system requires deep water. The deeper the better. Think over a mile deep.

Seawater at that depth is rich in nutrients. Ocean thermal plants could be combined with aquaculture to make them more cost effective. After the water is drawn up and warmed in the heat exchanger, it is released at the surface. The nutrients result in a plankton bloom that can be eaten by fish, shrimp, oysters, etc.

I remember when the US used to do this stuff

[GodfatherofSoul]

Back before we became a bunch of short-sighted corporatists who laugh at anything that doesn't turn a profit in one quarter.