OTEC Resource Potential Mapping

Abstract

In the present global scenario of a fossil fuel based economy, excessive use of non- renewable resources, such as petroleum, coal and natural gas has resulted in global warming, extreme weather events, and biodiversity loss. Therefore, the need for social, environmental and economic change is still dominant around the world and many places including the Netherlands, are proposing different alternatives to mitigate the increasing anthropogenic impact.
Our Oceans with thermal energy basins covering more than 70% of our planet’s surface are noticeably the largest solar collector. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) technology provides the means of harvesting this vast potential to offer a steady baseline power generation for coastal cities and regions where most of the World’s population is currently living. Nonetheless, since the nature of OTEC resources depends significantly on location-based indicators, an explicit focus has been put on this study towards the collection and examination of spatial information.
Nevertheless, cold water availability in 1 km depth, constraints the total amount of electricity that could be extracted by OTEC operations. For this reason, an advanced analysis below is performed which redefines the magnitude of the resources for the development of a realistic OTEC deployment scenario which can still cover the entire electricity demand of the world.
In total, the Offshore and Onshore OTEC power produce can reach up to 4.4 TW with a deep seawater flow rate of wcw=175 m/yr without causing any thermal disruptions in the ocean. Therefore, countries such as Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Dominica, Mozambique, U.S., Indonesia, etc that have a great abundance of OTEC resources, could even exchange this power produce through a symbiotic relationship to uplift their economy andmake a step closer towards the forthcoming renewable energy transition.