Islands for energy and water

Islands for energy and water
Some scientists and engineers are looking out to sea with fresh eyes, focusing on an old idea for generating electricity from the temperature difference between warm surface waters and cold water at depth. A few pilot projects were attempted in the 1930s and late 1970s, but were abandoned due to high costs and technical limitations. Improved structural engineering and more favorable market conditions are spurring backers of the Energy Island concept shown here to try again with a more integrated approach.

It goes like this: Warm surface water is evaporated in a vacuum, producing steam to drive a turbine that generates electricity. Cold water pumped up from depth causes the steam to condense as desalinated water. Wind turbines, solar cells and wave energy converters kick in additional juice. A few islands linked together could produce enough energy to power a small city and desalinate a tanker’s worth of water a day, the company says.