Renewable Energy From the Ocean: A Guide to OTEC / Edition 1

by William H. Avery, Chih Wu

Overview

Scientists and engineers around the world are striving to develop new sources of energy. One source, ocean thermal energy conversion, has virtually unlimited potential. It is based on techniques that exploit heat produced by solar energy that may, in turn, be used to produce fuel and electricity. This book reviews the status and background of this promising technology. William H. Avery is the leading expert in this field, and his co-author Chih Wu is an authority on heat engine performance. Together they describe the workings of an OTEC power plant and how such a system might be implemented as part of a futuristic national energy strategy. The book is the only detailed presentation of basic OTEC technology, its testing and improvement. It is based on extensive development initiatives undertaken internationally during the period from 1974 through 1985. The book offers a thorough assessment of the economics of OTEC in comparison with other energy production methods. It will be of interest to a wide range of professionals in energy research, power and mechanical engineering, and to upper-level undergraduate students taking courses in these fields.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195071993
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	03/17/1994
Series:	Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratories Series in Science and Engineering
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	480
Product dimensions:	6.06(w) x 9.50(h) x 1.38(d)

About the Author

The Johns Hopkins University

U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis

Table of Contents

1. Introduction and Overview2. OTEC Historical Background3. OTEC System Concepts4. Closed Cycle OTEC Systems5. Open-Cycle OTEC6. OTEC Closed-Cycle Engineering Status7. OTEC Closed-Cycle Systems Cost Evaluation8. OTEC Economics9. Environmental and Social Effects of OTEC Commercialization

Editorial Reviews

"Who would deny that we are once again in the middle of an energy/environmental/population crisis? Now, however, a critical mass of investigators employing the waters of Hawaii as their laboratory have developed the proof that ocean thermal energy and its by-productrs are an important element in a rational and environmentally sustainable solution. This important work is being recognized. Relevant pilot projects now exist in Britain and Hawaii, and developments are under serious consideration in the Cook Islands, the Marshal Islands, and the Cape Verde Islands. The entrepreneurs who have independently entered the development process will soon be joined by others. This book will be their bible." —from the Foreword by John P. Craven, former Dean of Marine Engineering, University of Hawaii.

"Avery and Wu present the scientific and engineering fundamentals of ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), showing that the technology base is sufficiently well-established for large-scale demonstration plants to be built as forerunners to commercial plants and plantships that will be economically attractive and environmentally benign."—Future Survey

"Drs. William Avery and Chih Wu have written a book that the former dean of marine engineering at the University of Hawaii declares will be the bible of entrepreneurs developing OTEC." —Energy Review

"The authors comprehensively and accurately describe, in detail, the history, concepts and technical aspects of the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) Program....a splendid reference Volume which future OTEC entrepreneurs will find most worthwhile." —Ocean Engineering

"With the knowledge set forth in Renewable Energy from the Ocean and its bilbliography, a 40-MWe seagoing pilot plant could be constructed...The authors provide extensive evidence that with experience costs of OTEC would be subatantially reduced and that ultimately production of methanol and ammonia by OTEC could be made cost-competitive." —Science

From the Publisher