World's largest Ocean thermal conversion plant to be built in China

Lockheed Martin to provide technology for first-of-kind renewable energy project

US aerospace and defence firm Lockheed Martin is to build the world’s largest Ocean Thermal Energy plant off the coast of southern China.

The Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) plant will use the temperature difference between the ocean’s surface water and its deep water to drive a steam cycle and turbine to produce power. Warm surface seawater passes through a heat exchanger, vaporising a low boiling point working fluid, such as ammonia, to drive a turbine generator and produce electricity.

The OTEC plant is planned for completion during 2017 and will be the largest ever built. Lockheed Martin said the plant is a “crucial step” towards the commercialisation of the technology. It will provide 10MW of constant baseload power for a resort being developed by Chinese conglomerate, the Reignwood Group. Lockheed is providing project management, design and systems engineering services.

Dan Heller, vice president of new ventures for Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training, said: “The ocean holds enormous potential for terrawatts of clean, baseload energy. Capturing this energy through a system like OTEC means we have the opportunity to produce reliable and sustainable power, supporting global security, a strong economic future and climate protection for future generations.” 



Lockheed Martin added that the OTEC technology was most suited for use by coastal military bases and communities in the tropics, and that the initial pilot plant could lead to the development of additional OTEC power plants of up to 100MW capacity. Around 80 countries around the equator have the ocean temperature differences that are necessary to run the plant.

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion technology was originally developed by Lockheed Martin in California during the 1970s, when a demonstration plant ran for three months and successfully generated 50kW of electricity. A number of pilot plants have since been built, but cost has been a barrier to commercialisation. According to website otec news, there are several projects planned around the world currently, with the most recent operational plant a 30kW unit at Saga University in Japan.