"Oceanasphere" Fish Farm

Hawaii Oceanic Technology has developed the Oceanasphere, a 162-foot diameter fish farm that runs on OTEC to generate clean energy for its seafood harvesting.

Mankind was able to make a fundamental leap when it ended relying strictly on hunting-and-gathering methods for finding food and land and instead developed agriculture. A cultivated square mile of land is able to support far more people than the same square mile used for only hunting and gathering.

However, we still have a hunter-and-gatherer mentality when it comes to the food resources of the ocean. Every day ships with nets trawl the waters, hunting schools and gathering them up for consumption. Traditional fish farms have had limited success due to a necessary proximity to shorelines which prohibit the raising of certain kinds of fish and crustaceans.

Floating islands, however, can be planted where the harvesting is best. With OTEC and other alternative energy sources, they can be self-sufficient and even profitable, selling home-grown fish to nearby population centers that have fished out their natural supplies.

UltraFuture Presents Energy Island at Green Tech Summit

UltraFuture, a global thinktank announced that they are supporting a concept called Energy Islands, described as "Modular man-made islands featuring sustainable, high-output power generation and water desalination facilities."

The islands are floating renewable energy platforms utilizing a variety of clean alternative energy sources including Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion. Each island can be as large as 1 square kilometer and generate up to 250 megawatts of electricity for local use and export. An estimated 50,000 Energy Islands would entirely meet the world's current energy needs, eliminating the need to build a single polluting land-based power plant.



UltraFuture plans to reveal more information at the US-China Green Tech Summit in Shanghai on November 12-14.

Published Resource for OTEC

It's difficult to find current published resources regarding OTEC. Barnes & Noble.com has just two listings. The first, Renewable Energy from the Ocean: A Guide to OTEC, written by William Avery and Chih Wu, is published by the Johns Hopkins University in 1994, and is based on development initiatives undertaken from 1974 through 1985.

The second listing at BN.com is Water for Energy: Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium on Wave, Tidal, OTEC and Small Scale Hydro Energy published by the British Hydromechanics Research Association in 1986, and appears to be out of print.

Lockheed Set to Tap Ocean Thermal Energy

The New York Times reported that a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy has been awarded to Lockheed Martin to demonstrate the viability of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion. Lockheed will focus on the problem of drawing cold deep water to the surface using fiberglass and cheap material manufacturing to construct cold-water pipes.

New joint venture to study OTEC in Tahiti

A new joint venture between Xenesis and the Pacific Petroleum Company Group was announced in August 2008. The new company, called "Xenesis Pacific Research & Services, S.A.S." will work to develop commercial and technical studies realizing Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion in French Polynesia, New Caldonia, and Vanuatu.