Greetings!

We wanted to let you know that we have been busy working to advance our projects and attending conferences and exhibitions to showcase our technology.

Clean Energy Legislative Briefing and Exhibit

OTI recently participated in the Hawaii Energy Policy Forum’s 9th annual informational briefing, “Hawaii: The State of Clean Energy,” which featured updates from lawmakers and energy experts on the progress various clean energy projects in the State are making.

During the briefing Hawaiian Electric Company’s Senior Vice President, Robbie Alm, mentioned OTI’s 100 MWe Kahe Point plant as a integral part of HECO’s renewable energy mix and necessary to meet the State’s 2025 goal of non-fossil electric power generation.   He said the OTI project was one of only four left in the current pipeline.

Following the briefing, legislators, their staff and the public met with 22 of Hawaii’s top energy pacesetters.  More than 200 participants attended this year’s briefing and energy exhibition.

The OTI table experienced a steady stream of interested parties.  Staffing the exhibit was John Harrison, Ph.D. of North Shore Consultants, one of OTI’s development partners.  Conversations  centered on OTEC technology and how the technology is optimal for Hawaii.  We received a lot of support and enthusiasm.

Hawaii Projects

We are continuing to hammer out the details for a lease for a 1MWe research, development and demonstration plant at NELHA.  Our target date for facility completion is final quarter of 2014.

Our negotiations on the Power Purchase Agreement with Hawaiian Electric Company for a 100 MWe OTEC plant have advanced significantly.  We’re honing the details and hope to submit the project for PUC approval later this year.

As more develops, we’ll be sure to keep you informed.

Caribbean Projects

We are working closely with the Caribbean Utilities Company on the site specifications to develop a 25 MWe offshore plant and now have expanded discussions for other Caribbean-based projects.

Robert J. Nicholson III Retires

Bob Nicholson (Robert J. Nicholson III) retires at the end of this year as President and Director of Global Market Development of OTEC International, LLC (OTI).  We anticipate that Bob will continue to consult on OTI’s global development.

Bob has been involved with OTEC for more than three decades and has been with OTI since The Abell Foundation acquired exclusive license to J. Hilbert Anderson’s Sea Solar Power technology for ocean thermal energy conversion.  In fact, Bob was responsible for the licensing of the Anderson’s technology to Abell.

When interest in renewables was dormant, Bob kept the promise of OTEC alive in the mind of utility industry leaders.  He has been instrumental in bringing us to the point we are in negotiations with Hawaiian Electric Company and the Caribbean Utilities Company.

We deeply appreciate Bob’s substantial contributions and tireless efforts and we will miss Bob’s affable personality.

OTI’s Jonathan Ross Gets Published by RINA

OTI’s Chief Engineer and Naval Architect Jonathan M. Ross, P.E., Ch.Eng. has a paper Design Considerations for a Floating OTEC Platform published by the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA).  Ross presented the paper at the Marine and Offshore Renewable Energy Conference in London this September.

The paper examines design considerations for a floating, ocean-based OTEC facility; the commercial viability of OTEC technology; design tradeoffs of ship-shape, semi-submersible, and spar designs; the unique challenges associated with the construction of an OTEC facility and how existing technologies can serve as a base for safe, and efficient placement and operation of OTEC equipment.

Please visit our website for a copy of the paper’s abstract and details on where to purchase the paper: OTI Publications

We wanted you to know that the Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) has been published for OTEC International’s proposed one megawatt demonstration plant at NELHA’s Hawaii Ocean Science and Technology (HOST) Park at Keahole, Hawaii Island.

You can review the DEA online at the state’s Office of Environmental Quality Control website: http://hawaii.gov/health/environmental/oeqc/index.html/
(Click on “Current Issue” under “The Environmental Notice” section to access the DEA.)

Or download a PDF version of the DEA from OTI’s website: http://www.oteci.com/nelhadea

All comments are welcome, but should be in writing, either by email or regular mail.  Comments should be addressed to North Shore Consultants with copies to the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA) and the Office of Environmental Quality Control.  Contact information is provided below.

The comment period is open until August 22, 2012.

David M. Robichaux, Principal
North Shore Consultants
PO Box 790
Haleiwa, HI 96712
637-8030 office
368-5352 cell
Email: robichaud001@hawaii.rr.com

Greg Barbour, Executive Director
Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority
73-4460 Queen Kaahumanu Hwy. #101
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
327-9585 office

Office of Environmental Quality Control
235 South Beretania Street, Suite 702
Honolulu, HI 96813
Email: oeqc@doh.hawaii.gov

The EA, which has been prepared at the request of NELHA, looks at the environmental implications at the facility’s proposed site.

OTI’s planned 1MWe OTEC facility will serve as a test platform for research, development and demonstration (RD&D) of various phases of OTEC technology.  Advances achieved at the RD&D site will facilitate installation and operation of commercial OTEC power plants.

We are pleased to let you know that the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaiʻi Authority (NELHA) Board of Directors has authorized final lease negotiations with OTEC International LLC (OTI) to construct a one-megawatt full-cycle demonstration plant at the Hawai‘i Ocean Science and Technology (HOST) Park at Keahole Point in Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i.

We think it’s safe to say that there’s excitement all around at the prospect of the demonstration.  For OTI,  demonstrating the integration of components will lead directly to a commercial plant.

The NELHA board voted unanimously Jan. 31 to approve in concept OTI’s plan for the ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) facility.

“NELHA’s facility was founded for OTEC research and has been the foremost site in the world since 1974,” said Eileen O’Rourke, chief operating officer of OTI.  “We are excited at the prospect of bringing our full-cycle test there.”

The full story on the NELHA board’s action can be found here.

OTI’s team spent two weeks in Hawai‘i in January meeting with government, business and community stakeholders in Hawai‘i—both on O‘ahu and Hawai‘i Island—explaining OTI’s plans and its business model of triple bottom line: environmentally friendly, socially meaningful and financially successful.

For its off-shore commercial plants, OTI is negotiating with Hawaiian Electric Company for a 100 MW plant off O‘ahu and with the Caribbean Utilities Company for a 25 MW plant and in preliminary discussions with other utilities.

OTI Selected to Build Demo Plant at NELHA

OTEC International LLC is pleased to announce that it has been selected to build a 1 megawatt (MW) demonstration plant at Hawaiʻi Ocean Science and Technology (HOST) Park which is administered by the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaiʻi Authority.

NELHA had issued a request for proposal for a 1 MW facility at the HOST Park and on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011, NELHA’s board chose OTI after staff and the Research Advisory Committee rated our proposal substantially higher than other submissions. Greg Barbour, executive director at NELHA, called OTI’s proposal “superior and comprehensive.”

Barry Cole, OTIʻs executive vice president, leads a team of development partners that  has pulled together an OTEC power cycle using both off-the-shelf and proprietary components.

OTI plans to build the onshore 1 MW demonstration to integrate the complete power system on a smaller scale to reduce the risk for its first full-scale commercial project in offshore waters.

The HOST Park in Kailua-Kona on Hawaiʻi Island was established for demonstration and commercialization of renewable energy, ocean science and sustainable living technologies. (www.nelha.org)

Link here to see the media announcement of the NELHA selection.

Link here to see our team and development partners.

OTEC International LLC Updates its Web Presence

OTEC International, LLC (OTI) is pleased to announce the launch of its updated website. You can access it either through OTECInternationalLLC.com or oteci.com.

As OTI progresses toward commercialization of electricity generation through ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) we will regularly update our site and keep you posted on developments.

Status Update: We have a term sheet and are now in advanced discussions with Hawaiian Electric Company for a power purchase agreement on a 100-megawatt operation along with similar talks with the Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. for 25 MW.

If ever the time for OTEC, it’s now.  OTI’s technology has taken significant leaps over the past decade, with improved processes and materials at the same time fossil fuel supplies dwindle, its prices and global demand climb.

As proof of OTI’s advanced technology, ABS (American Bureau of Shipping) has reviewed our 100 MW and 25 MW moored spar power plants and given OTI it’s first ever Approval-in-Principle for a floating renewable energy facility.

Read about ABS’s approval on our new website…