Preliminary Design of a 1-MWe OTEC Test Plant

An ocean-based, 1-MWe (gross) test plant has been planned to establish the feasibility of OTEC (ocean thermal energy conversion) power generation in the revised Sunshine Project. The preliminary design of the proposed test plant employs a closed-cycle power system using ammonia as the working fluid on a barge-type platform with a rigid-arm-type, detachable, single-buoy mooring system. Two types each of titanium evaporators and condensers are to be included. The steel, cold-water pipe is suspended from the buoy. The design value of the ocean temperature difference is 20 K. The paper presents an overview of the preliminary design of the test plant and the tests to be conducted.