Energy-efficient schemes for seawater desalination

Abstract

The present paper proposes a financing scheme that would spread in time the capital cost of, and the technological risk associated with, small land-based Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) plants. It is based on the cost effectiveness of some OTEC by-products. Three separate phases are envisioned: the first one would consist in supplying air-conditioning (A/C) needs with deep cold seawater pumped through a pipe designed for larger OTEC flow rate requirements; the second one, in building a desalination unit based on some Open-Cycle OTEC hardware, with externally supplied power. The last phase represents the OTEC power plant itself. The capital expenditure would be shared relatively evenly by all phases. The philosophy of this financing strategy is that each phase has an acceptable cumulative payback period, even if the following phases cannot be implemented.