Missions and commercial opportunities, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC)

Journal Article · Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1978 · Proc., Annu. Offshore Technol. Conf.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.4043/3337-MS· OSTI ID:6700333

Francis, E J; Dugger, G L

The national Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) program has entered the hardware stage and is directed on two parallel development paths: OTEC plants for direct transmission of electricity to US utility grids from offshore sites, and OTEC industrial plant-ships for the onboard production of energy-intensive products such as ammonia, hydrogen (possibly transported as ammonia), aluminum, and other metals and chemicals. The industrial plant-ship path has been the major subject of the OTEC work by the Applied Physics Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins University. The onboard production of ammonia appears particularly attractive for two reasons: there is a growing market for fertilizers and chemicals based on ammonia, which is now made from natural gas; and ammonia is a hydrogen carrier - it can be used for generation of electricity via hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells anywhere in the US. Estimates of ammonia production cost in the mid-1980s - about $100/short ton (1975 dollars) on tropical ''grazing'' plant-ships - and the possible cash flow picture for sales for the fertilizer/chemical market at various sales prices ($300-$142) indicate that the plant investment can be recovered in 3.2 to 6.3 years. Thus, the potential for early profitability is good. Two possible types of venture organizations underpinned by take-or-pay contracts for the ammonia product are described - an outright ownership type and a leveraged lease arrangement. By 1990 it may be possible to achieve electricity costs of 28-33 mills/kWh (1975 dollars) by the OTEC ammonia/H/sub 2/-O/sub 2/ fuel cell route, competitive with other baseload power sources.

• Research Organization: Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD
• OSTI ID: 6700333
• Journal Information: Proc., Annu. Offshore Technol. Conf.; (United States), Vol. OTC 3337
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
10 SYNTHETIC FUELS
AMMONIA
PRODUCTION
OCEAN THERMAL POWER PLANTS
COMMERCIALIZATION
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
MISSION ANALYSIS
CAPITALIZED COST
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
INVESTMENT
OPERATING COST
COST
ECONOMICS
HYDRIDES
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SOLAR POWER PLANTS
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