Samantha McDonald & Rachael Lehner

How it works: – Is done by using the differences in temperature and pressure in each ocean level – Warm water is used to boil a liquid with a low boiling point (ammonia) – Pressure caused by the expanding vapor is turned into turbine – Turbine turns generator to produce electricity – Cold water is used to cool and recycle the vapor back to a condensed state where the cycle starts over again Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, or OTEC, is an energy technology that converts solar radiation to electric power. So what does solar energy have to do with the ocean? The oceans cover a little more than 70% of the earths surface making them the largest collector and storage unit of solar energy. About 23 million square miles of tropical seas absorb the same amount of heat content as 250 barrels of oil. If less than one tenth of this stored solar energy was used, it would supply more than 20 times the amount of energy used in the United States on a typical day.

Pros It IS renewable. No pollution. it does not burn any fossil fuels. does not produce any chemicals All the chemicals used are recycled through the system. system is also far out in the ocean, so no noise pollution. could generate up to 160 million watts of electricity, which could supply 100,000 homes with electricity daily. there is no harm done to wildlife, and the ocean temperatures will always remain constant. Cost per kilowatt hour. $.07 Cons Uncertain of the pricing to build a OTEC plant, but the price will be high because the maintenance crew will have to live on the plant. Will not work everywhere, only coastal cities.

A. – % Usage in Georgia 0% B. – % Usage in the US 2% (because Hawaii has a plant) C. – % Usage in World; couldn’t find D. – Country with highest % usage; couldn’t find

Sources "NREL: Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion." N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May "OTEC." N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May "OTEC News." N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May "Science Clarified." N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May