While not technically OTEC because it generates no electricity, Seawater Air Conditioning (SWAC) uses the same cold deep-water resource. Several examples exist, serving as proof of concept for OTEC’s cold-water pipe infrastructure.
The earliest of all dates back to Georges Claude, a French physicist and student of the technology's inventor, Jacques-Arsene d'Arsonval. Claude built the world's first open-cycle OTEC plant at Matanzas Bay, Cuba. otec examples
: Launched off the coast of Hawaii, this was the first plant to produce "net" power (more electricity than it took to run the pumps). It generated about 15 kW of usable energy from a converted U.S. Navy barge. While not technically OTEC because it generates no
, a variation that uses an ammonia-water mixture to improve efficiency in energy conversion. Kumejima OTEC Demonstration Plant Claude built the world's first open-cycle OTEC plant
This combines the best of both worlds, generating both electricity and large quantities of desalinated water.
The cold water supports high-value industries like chilled-soil agriculture and mariculture. 💡 The Bottom Line