The International Energy Agency’s Technology Collaboration Programme on Ocean Energy Systems (IEA-OES) has published six interviews that discuss successful projects in different parts of the world taking advantage of the temperature of the ocean for heating, cooling and power production.

These interviews focus on ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) demonstration plants, seawater air conditioning (SWAC) and seawater heat pump (SWHP) systems, sharing experiences, challenges and lessons learned:

• Okinawa OTEC demonstration facility by Benjamin Martin, project manager at Xenesys
• Makai Ocean Engineering’s OTEC power plant in Hawaii by Hermann Kugeler, vice president of business development at Makai Ocean Engineering
• 1-MW OTEC power plant developed by KRISO for installation at the Republic of Kiribati by Dr. Hyeon-Ju Kim, principal researcher at KRISO
• SWAC project of the French Polynesian Hospital in Tahiti by Cathy Tang, project manager at SDE-Energy Service of French Polynesia
• Seawater heat pump system in Monaco by Pierre Bardy, director at SMEG, Monaco 
• Thassalia power station on France’s southern coast by Patrick Berardi, general director of Thassalia at ENGIE Solutions France.

Questions covered include: How much public and private funding has been granted to develop these projects? What is their economic feasibility? What are the most critical risks, and how can they be overcome? What are the difficulties faced in operations and maintenance challenges?
 
These flagship projects show promising prospects for the development of OTEC, as well as advantages of using seawater as a renewable source for innovative and environmentally friendly air conditioning and heating systems, which allows energy saving and lower CO2 emissions.

Click here to read the interviews.