Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion plant

[MarkP]

I probably shouldn't have sounded so sure of myself, but the challenges I mentioned are valid, and human nature is such that it is very easy to oversell something like this. True, chilled water at 55 degrees F is still colder than ambient but there are reasons why they don't cool buildings with 65 degree water. The humidity control would be terrible. You could pre-cool outside ambient make-up air from 80 deg to 70 deg using 65 deg water and that is worth something but that means installing an additional chilled water loop and air handler for the higher temperature system. There is lots of stuff that seems worth doing on paper but typically isn't done because it is a pain and has a marginal payback. Open cycle OTEC has been the holy grail for decades because it would produce desalinated water. Total win/win if they can ever get it to work economically. So far they haven't so cut me some slack for pointing that out. A quick google check shows abalone like about 65 degrees F so that could work really well for wringing the last use out of the water after cooling a building but I don't see it happening in Waikiki.

I continue to defend my assertion that lots of what you read on the internet is overly-hyped bull.