ABSTRACT
This chapter examines water, and in particular, ocean water, as a source of power and water usage in energy production. Wind power is one form which has been the major source of energy used for ocean transportation until the invention of the heat engine. The ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) is considered with great optimism by many. The earth’s oceans can be viewed as natural thermal collectors and storage devices. The thermodynamic efficiency of OTEC power plants is controlled by the available ocean water temperature differential, efficiency of the heat exchangers, fluid energy losses from pumping large amounts of water, and frictional losses incurred by the power plant machinery. The benefit of the present OTEC project is multiple. The technology fallout in ocean engineering as the result of the research presently being done could be significant. Oceanic thermal gradient and osmotic pressure energy from rivers arriving into the oceans are dependable sources of energy.
