Proposed OTEC Punta Tuna Pilot Plant

Conference · Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1981 · AIAA Pap.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5461444

Marina, J; Perez, F

Siting features and the design of a 40 MWe prototype OTEC for installation at Punta Tuna, Puerto Rico are presented. An annual average temperature gradient of 40 F from surface to 3,000 ft depth, a sharp coastal drop-off, projected benign environmental effects, and expensive indigenous power supplies are seen as favorable for fixed, floating, or grazing OTEC plants. The Punta Tuna design is for a platform fitted with generators in 300 ft of water, submarine cable power transmission, fiberglass seawater pipes, NH3 as a working fluid, and heat exchangers at the 300 ft depth, below hurricane wind and wave action. Methods of installing the 3,000 ft cold water pipes are discussed, and the use of OTEC derived electricity for aluminum smelting in the Caribbean is indicated.

• Research Organization: Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, San Juan, PR
• OSTI ID: 5461444
• Report Number(s): CONF-811205-
• Journal Information: AIAA Pap.; (United States), Vol. 81-2565; Conference: 2. AIWA terrestrial energy systems conference, Colorado Springs, CO, USA, 1 Dec 1981
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION
PILOT PLANTS
PUERTO RICO
DESIGN
ELECTRIC GENERATORS
ELECTRIC POWER
INSTALLATION
OFFSHORE PLATFORMS
POWER TRANSMISSION LINES
SITE SELECTION
SURFACES
TEMPERATURE GRADIENTS
WORKING FLUIDS
CONVERSION
ENERGY CONVERSION
FEDERAL REGION II
FLUIDS
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
GREATER ANTILLES
NORTH AMERICA
POWER
SOLAR ENERGY CONVERSION
USA
140800* - Solar Energy- Ocean Energy Systems