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www.sname.org/sname/mt July 2013 community outreach will be as essential to a successful OTEC project as solving the many technical issues. Makai Ocean Engineering is again deeply involved, as it was from OTECs beginnings, assisting the United States Navy with plans to procure, install and operate a 100-kW turbine generator for the Hawaii Ocean ermal Energy Conversion Test Facility at NELHA. Lockheed Martin is developing OTEC heat exchang- ers and cold water pipes, with the ultimate goal of large-scale commercialization. Meanwhile, OTEC International, a Maryland company, is in the process of constructing and operating a 1 MW, shore-based OTEC innovation and demonstration facility at the Hawaii Science and Technology Park (also at NELHA). All involved believe demonstration of OTEC-generated elec- tric power will help spur the commercially-funded technology development needed for large-scale expansion. Dr. Vega and his colleagues will tell anyone who listens that their research shows 98 nations with adequate OTEC resources within their exclusive economic zones for extractable energy pro- duction, which could equal more than half of worldwide energy consumption. However, except for the U.S., France, Japan, Taiwan, and China, none of the other nations appear to be interested in expending the research and development resources needed to explore this potential. e hope that zealous OTEC proponents still hold for this promising technology must be tempered by the reality that it may not happen until the federal government or some other source provides substantial support for research and development, dem- onstration, and testing to bring it to commercial application. The LNG bridge Hawaiian Electric and the state of Hawaii are close to a formal decision to convert from oil to natural gas to general electricity as a bridge to more renewables in the future. Bringing liqueed natural gas (LNG) to Hawaii would require diverse marine engineering. A shortage of available land around Kalaeloa (Barbers Point) Harbor near Oahus main power plants could require near-shore oating storage and regasica- tion structures to hold and process LNG brought to Hawaii in small-scale LNG carriers. Taking advantage of the low natural gas prices available on the U.S. mainland will require cost-eec- tive means of transporting it over 2,000 miles of ocean. MT Arthur Seki is director of the Renewable Technology Division for Hawaiian Electric Company. Stephen Luckett is senior energy specialist of the Renewable Technology Division for Hawaiian Electric Company. energy. Information collected will be used to support the deci- sion making process for any longer-term approaches regarding future energy projects in Washington waters. e pilot will rely on an adaptive management approach to main- tain a continuous dialogue with stakeholders regarding the results of environmental monitoring. ese results, in combination with other data about the Puget Sounds ecosystem, will help research- ers make any necessary adjustments to the pilot project during its operation. ere is no single resource we can secure to solve all our energy needs,? says Stave Klein. It has to be a combination, and theres virtually no renewable resource we wont consider.? MT Neil Neroutsos is media liaison for Snohomish County Public Utility District in Everett, Washington. Turbine Details Each of the devices consists of a 6-m open-center turbine with a triangular base constructed of 2-m diameter steel tub- ing. In total, the structure with the turbine axed is roughly 13 m tall and weighs approximately 275 tons. The turbines have a combined nameplate capacity of 600 kW. Each device consists of a horizontal axis rotor with a single moving part and power takeo through a direct drive, permanent magnet generator. It is comprised principally of the rotor and the sta- tor, which are an assembly of structural steel, ?berglass, and electrical components. Each turbine will be equipped with ?xed instrumentation for monitoring, including doppler current pro?lers to character- ize turbine in?ow conditions and other measures; broadband hydrophones to monitor turbine noise and marine mammal vocalizations; and performance sensors to monitor voltage/ current, rotor rotational rate, vibration, and other measures. A recoverable adaptive monitoring package (AMP), among other things, will include ? a stereo imaging system to monitor the turbine rotor and track ?sh and marine mammal interactions ? water quality measurements to study dissolved oxygen levels ? click detectors to monitor marine mammal activity (primarily the harbor porpoise) ? ?sh tag receivers to track presence of tagged ?sh in the area. The AMP is being designed to enable new instruments to be incorporated into the monitoring plan, as needed, over time as the pilot project progresses. THE UTILITY PERSPECTIVE: PUGET SOUND THE UTILITY PERSPECTIVE: HAWAII