REALISTIC SELF-SUFFICIENT COASTAL
COMPLEXES
USING DEEP OCEAN WATER AS A RESOURCE
John Piña
Craven
Common Heritage Corp.
Honolulu, Hawaii,
U.S.A.
AbstractTechnology incubation projects at the
Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii have demonstrated that, under the
direction of individuals who have acquired the knowledge associated with
these incubations, the technology for design, construction and deployment
of prototype self sufficient deep ocean water systems is in place. These
systems may include, but are not limited to, closed cycle electricity
generation, air conditioning and industrial cooling, fresh water
generation, coldwater agriculture of most terrestrial crops, and
aquaculture of a complete spectrum of marine plants and animals. Economic,
political, environmental, andd educational factors militate against the
realization of any capital intensive project derived from this experience
in a time scale which will permit amortization of the project in
conventional economic terms. Labor intensive, small capital 'third world
projects' are similarly stifled. Realistic projects, achievable in the
near term, must, therefore, be divorced from the need to raise capital and
to employ high priced technology and technicians. They must be capable of
being operated and maintained by unskilled personnel and there must be an
immediate return in terms of commercial product. In the alternative,
realistic projects must be unique as a solution to a military, economic or
social crisis. The Natuaral Energy Laboratory of Hawaii is an existing
reality and a show case of realistic components for realistic systems. The
paper describes a number of systems now in the seminal stage which are
derived from the experiences of NELH and which meet these stringent
criteria. These include installations proposed for the Cape Verde
Islands, Malta, Mauritius, the Caribbean, Kahoolawe, Midway, and
Oahu.
INTRODUCTIONThe Natural Energy Laboratory of
Hawaii was established in 1974 for the purpose of developing deep ocean
water as an energy resource. The first project carried out at the
Laboratory was Mini-OTEC, a barge mounted closed cycle ocean thermal
energy plant. This plant demonstrated that this form of OTEC could produce
net power. Subsequent investigations by General Electric of Great Britain
and the Aluminum Company of Canada resulted in the development of long
life low cost heat exchangers. These have been tested in a prototype plant
at Lynmouth England and a demonstration plant of from 200 to 1000
megawatts has been in design for nearly a decade. It is expected that the
Pacific Center for High Technology Research will complete this
demonstration, but political and economic factors continue to militate
agains its completion. Nevertheless the technology is now in place for
the construction of a prototype electrical energy plant of the order of
magnitude of one megawatt.
The demonstration and development of air
conditioning and industrial cooling with deep ocean water was a virtually
automatic concomitant of the Laboratory's existence. The use of automobile
radiators, scrap titanium pipe and other ad hoc constructions quickly
resulted in the substitution of deep ocean water as the cooling mechanism
for facilities at NELH, whenever and wherever it was feasible. Indeed,
very Sophisticated techniques for the extraction of C02 from the
combustion product of butane were developed by Cyanotech. Thus the
technical feasibility of employing deep ocean water as a substitute for
cooling fluids in industrial process is in place.
The generation of
fresh water from condensation from the atmosphere was similarly automatic.
Condensate appears whenever and wherever the cold water is exposed to a
cold plate. Were it not for its value in many locations this condensate
would be a nuisance if not an unwelcome pollutant of the industrial
environment.
The generation of freshwater by one or more distillation
processes as in the open cycle system has also been demonstrated in a
variety of 'mock ups' The technology for generating freshwater in
quantites which are approximately 5% of the flow of deep ocean cold water
is thus in place.
Much more complex development process has been
required for the aquaculture of a spectrum of products. Nevertheless,
profitable farms have been developed including marketing and distribution
systems for spirulina, danaaniella, a spectrum of sea vegetables including
nori, ogo, and limu, hirame (a flounder popular in Japan), and lobster.
The entire process from spawn to market has been demonstrated for abalone,
salmon and oyster although these enterprises failed as a result of
financial, economic and structural factors. In any event the technological
knowledge required for the entire farm to market process of cold water
aquaculture has been demonstrated and is in place.
Less attention has
been paid to a new and potentially significant form of agriculture which
is now called coldwater agriculture or ColdAg. More than eighty different
crops have been grown successfully for more than one year at the Natural
Energy Laboratory of Hawaii. Of greater significance the entire process of
'community production of agricultural products has been demonstrated
including marketing and distribution. The technology for this cold water
agriculture is thereby also in place.
This recitation makes it
tautological to state that the technology of self sufficient coastal
complexes utilizing deep ocean water as a resource is in place. The
knowledge gained from the Ke-ahole experience has not yet been reported in
the scientific and technical literature in a manner which permits its
transfer. As a result, except for a very few institutions such as the
University of Hawaii, this knowledge is not disseminated in educational
institutions. Despite the technical successes no operational prototype
systems have been constructed or are in process of construction. Most of
factors which deter the development of this most valuable resource are not
technical but they must be identified if they are to be overcome., if the
benefits of deep ocean water as a resource are to be
realized.
SOCIETAL CONSTRAINTSThe primary constraint on
world innovation derives from the anachronistic nature of both Marxist and
Capitalistic World economic systems. Both of these systems are predicated
on the presumption that human labor is the primary element of
productivity. "From each according to his ability, to each according to
his need" was the primary metaphor of marxist socialism whereas "From
each according to his ability, to each according to his ability, but, in
any event, at a minimum level of human need" is the hallmark of
Industrialized Society. We are in the middle of a technological revolution
in which the machine has become the primary element of productivity for
nearly every human activity including intellectual and cultural product.
Each incremental use of the machine increases productivity at the expense
of the elimination elimination of a number of workers. For example, this
paper was prepared in its entirety by a single individual with the aid of
many information processing machines (Xerox, laser printer, computer,
scanners, graphics programs, word processers spell and grammar check,
spreadsheets, paper cutters, telephone, fax, internet, automobile,
spreadsheets, internet, postage machines, microwave, coffee maker, soda
machines etc). During its preparation the preparer was psychologically
assisted by compact disc renditions of music through earphones attached to
the computer. The number of man hours of compensated human endeavor
displaced in the preparation of this paper is an order of magnitude
greater than the man hours expended in the generzion of its intellectual
content. When a society fails to appreciate the employment dillemmas
created by these new technologies, it organically reacts by the generation
of jobs for professionals which, by law, must be carried out as though
they were an emolument of production. Compliance with laws, regulations,
budgets and planning documents, taxation systems, customs, licensing,
insurance, social security systems etc, provide requirements for high
level high priced professionals and technicians who have little positive
influence on productivity. Even in a conference such as this which is
devoted to the development of new resources places a tax on the economy of
more than $250,000.00 (travel, perdiem and salary).The distribution of
the wealth created by machines to individuals whose non-contributory
participation in production through law and regulation is not sufficient
to fill the deficit in population income. Societies must therefore create
entitlements such as Social Security, pensions, welfare, medical care,
unemployment insurance etc. Entitlements constitute nearly 50 percent of
the budget of the United States Government. Lacking mechanisms for
transfering the wealth created by machines to governments (value added
tax, excise tax, etc) income is distributed through the creation of
institutional debt. This debt in turn produces a drain on capital
available for producing and maintaining wealth generating machines in the
form of interest on the debt. So long as the process attempts to maintain
the fiction that the creation of wealth is dependent on human
productivitity and that the distribution of wealth is made in terms of the
productivity of the individual then the debt process will exponentiate
without limit and resources will not be available for innovation with
respect to the machines and resources that are required for
environmentally sustaianable development.
The number of mega projects
(such as 'My Secret Submarine')which nations of the
world undertake are dwindling very rapidly. The resolution of the cold war
makes many of the megaprojects of the military an anachronism. Multi
billion dollar submarines, aircraft carriers, star wars, missile systems
etc are dinosaurs that will not readily die. Systems which by culture and
tradition have enjoyed public and government support such as space
systems, nuclear power systems, are seeing level or diminishing budgets.
The prospects for the construction of even one major ocean thermal energy
system are thus remote.
At the other end of the spectrum, the
development of third world systems which are in the reach of subsistence
economies are similarly taxed by the development structure. Aid projects
require an initial period of research and development by highly trained
professionals such as are assembled here. Project proposals are then
prepared through varius funding mecahnisms that are primarily governmental
or from eelyomosynary institutions or by borrowing. A development plan is
prepared with mechanism for the raising of capital and with projections of
income and return. The major mecahnaism of funding is through the World
Bank which expects a return on the loan or loans. Depending upon the
recipient society this is followed by a period of environmental impact
statements, permits, zoning and rezoning, licensing, etc. In the
establishment of the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii there was a
period of fifteen months in which the site was untouched pending the
completion of environmental permits.
The evidence to date suggests that,
except at a few establishments at Ke-ahole, there are no economically and
environmentally viable applications of Deep Ocean Water as a
Resource.
THE CHC GARDEN -AN EXPERIMENT IN REALIZATIONIn
the face of the preceding gloomy analysis the author established the Common Heritage Corporation in 1991. The mission of
the corporation is expressed in its motto "The management of Innovation
for the benefit of the Common Heritage.The hoped for 'modus operandi'
for the company was the development of system concepts for the new coastal
zone communities which must be established to absorb that element of the
world population explosion that migrates to the coastal zone.
The
immediate problem faced by the corporation was the generation of a policy,
which in the face of the previously described social constraints would
permit the corporation to survive and function through the gestation
process in a manner that could be sustained throughout its
lifetime.
These policy doctrines were as follows:
(1)CHC (Common
Heritage Corporation) does not borrow money at interest nor will it commit
to a repayment schedule.
(2)CHC does not undertake financial
obligations for which it does not have the money in advance.
(3)CHC
will not organize as a non-profit corporation because of the restraints on
competition which are imposed and because of the unacceptable overhead
costs associated with regulation.
(4)CHC will not organize as a small
business because of the unacceptable overhead costs associated with
regulation and because the miniscule profit margin under which it will
operate does not warrant the neeed for tax breaks.
(5)CHC will not
accept government contracts because of the unacceptable burden of
regulation and reporting and the risk of inadvertent violation of said
regulations.
To date the only debt of the corporation consist of zero
interest loans from the stockholders of the corporation. The author as
primary stockholder employs his entitlements (Social Security, State and
Federal retirements) as the assured income stream for those loans which
are necessary to keep the corporation solvent and operational.
Having
established a policy of fiscal responsibility, the initial task of the
corporation was to identify a basic system whih derived from the
technologies developed at Ke-ahole Point. The system is described in CHC's Cyberworld. At that time it was expected that a
closed cycle OTEC plant would exist at Ke-ahole. All other elements except
for ColdAg were and are in existence for demonstration purposes at the
laboratory. It was thus incombent upon CHC to develop the agricultural
component to a the point of demonstration of feasibility.
Initially
several microclimate towers (patents pending) were designed for the
production of fresh water, spring fruits and mushrooms. In order to
establish growth parameters for the specific designs, one-quarter acre of
strawberry plants were planted in beds which were chilled by deep ocean
water. As a result of CHC finacial policies (and for other reasons) the
strawberry beds were virtually untended for a period of four months.(See
CHC's Cybergarden At the end of that time the
strawberry plants had 'taken the place' and demonstrated the possibility
that economic organic gardening with deep ocean water on desert coastlines
was feasible.
An immediate change in system design and focus was made
shifting from ther generation of electricity as the prime element of the
system to a focus on community production and consumption of fresh water,
agriculture and aquacultural projects. The CHC garden was converted to a
demonstration garden including a demonstration of the sociological and environmental management techniques
which must be employed if these systems are to be realistically employed
in the mission environment.
Accordingly a cooperative garden was
established with volunteers from the community. A 'community manager'
(Konohiki, earth mother,) was retained on a part time basis (from 100 to
150 hours per month). The initial results were spectacular. Almost every
variety and plant which was produced had a yield of highest quality and
size. More than eighty crops were successfully tested and many were
successfully marketed at the weekly Kona farmers market. The initial
sociological problem occurred with the growth of a Hawaiian gourd known as
the ipu. This gourd, when dried, is used in Hawaiian ceremony and dance.
Despite its cultural significance the ipu does not grow well in Hawaii and
must be imported from California or Mexico. As a result healthy, large
ipu's are highly prized. The result was the disappearance of the first
'prize' ipu just before it was ready for harvest and in spite of the
presence of a security guard within sight distance of the garden. This
'sharing' of the community garden is an inevitable element of an effective
community producer of plenty in an area of want.
The 'ipu' problem has
been resolved, as it must be resolved by inclusion of the cultural
community in the cooperative enterprise. Thus CHC has been successful for
nearly two years in the maintainence of a high quality, highly productive,
low cost agricultural facility in a coastal desert where no other
agriculture can exist.
It is now the task of CHC to transplant this
technology in its low cost form in applications where it is most
appropriate and where it can replicate without high technology assistance
and without the suffocating overhead burden of conventional aid projects.
To this end a number of specific realistic projects have been
conceptualized.
CANDIDATE 1 THE CAPEVERDE ISLANDSThe Cape
Verde Islands are a cluster of sea mount islands located off the West
Coast of Africa (approximately 14 degrees North Latitude).The climate is
similar to that of the Sahara and as a consequence their is a paucity of
potable water. The largest island is bigger than Oahu and there are nine
other islands which are about the size of Molokai or Lanai and there are
five or so islets. Initial examination suggests that the islands are
ideally situated with respect to the ocean thermal resource. Surface water
temperatures are probably as good or better than Hawaii and deep ocean
water is very close to the shores of all of the islands, The population of
the Cape Verde Islands is very young. 76% of the population are under the
age of 29, 56% are under the age of 19. The doubling time for the
population is 24 years. Per capita income for the islands is about $400.00
per year and prospects for the future are dim. Except for the deep ocean
water, natural resources appear to be very limited. Because of the lack of
water there is essentially no tourist activity. The population is
culturally homogenous, ethnically Portuguese-African. The Roman Catho- lic
religion is dominant. There is a politically healthy democratic society
with young and vigorous leadership. This stability augers well for the
development process. It is under- stood that development projects in the
Cape Verde Islands are for the most part limited to rather conventional
forms of desalinization. These are energy expensive and produce economic
deficit even as they produce that most vital of scarce resources, fresh
water.It is therefore proposed that an evolutionary development program
for the Cape Verde Islands be initiated employing cold deep ocean water
and warm surface waters as the energy resource be initiated.
Although
the final system will involve a series of offshore platforms with rather
large Ocean Thermal Energy plants which manufacture fuels such as ammonia
and methanol. The initial installation must begin with components that are
fully developed and "off the shelf" and should approximate the system
shown in CHC's Cyberworld.
CANDIDATE 2
MALTAThe Maltese Archipelago consists of a group of small islands
aligned in a North-West/South-East direction and located in the Strait of
Sicily approximately 96 kilometers south-west of the southern tip of
Sicily. The islands are located between 14- 10' and 14ø 40' East and 35-
40' and 36- 50' North. Because of the islands' locale, the general climate
characteristics are a dry and hot summer and a cooler moister winter.
Summer months often have little to no rainfall. The average annual
rainfall is 56 centimeters (22 inches), most of which falls in short,
sharp showers during the winter The temperature structure of Mediterranean
water is very complex and varies seasonally. Deep water temperatures are
rarely less than 13degreesC. This water temperature is however indicative
of the water mass during the summer at 100-200m depth off the south-west
and west coasts of Malta (see Figure 2). Two valleys, which possess
fertile loam soil, border the coast in these two locations.
Maltese agriculture is heavily dependent upon adequate precipitation during the winter
months (Blouet 1989). Unfortunately, winter weather conditions are highly varied and
sometimes adequate precipitation for agriculture production is not forthcoming. In
addition, while the winter months might afford the opportunity for agricultural practice,
the summer months are not nearly as kind. The lack of precipitation and high
temperatures in summer months inhibit many agriculture practices (Table 1). Only
where irrigation waters are available are agricultural practices performed during
summer months but most freshwater on Malta is derived from expensive
desalinization.
The economy of Malta is heavily dependent on tourism and in particular during the
summer months. Fresh vegetables and fruits for this trade are imported from Italy and
Libya (generally by air) at high prices. There is a small aquaculture facility for the
production of high quality fresh fish. This is expensive because of the need for chilling
the fish ponds to a temperature of 13 degrees centigrade and the need for chillers to
preserve the fish from the facility to the table.
The intense heat of the sun at midday is such that the entire society practices siesta
from 12 noon to 2:00 P. M. This dictates expensive energy consuming air conditioning
systems in all tourist facilities.
A solution to this dilemma would be the use of the 100 meter Mediterranean water for
the aquaculture facility, for air conditioning and, if feasible, for coldwater agriculture.
Ordinarily the research and development costs for such feasibility studies would be
beyond the resources available to Malta and/or foundations that support Malta and
would not be warranted by the magnitude and scope of the final installation (100 acre
farm, 15 acre fish farm). Therefore the feasibility investigation was limited to a site visit
by Common Heritage Corp. in 1992. This was followed by the incorporation of a
'Malta' simulation at the CHC facility at NELH. The total cost to Malta and the Salen
Foundation has been approximately $10,000.00 (five attendees at this conference).
CHC tested the feasibility of using coldwater agriculture techniques to grow cherry
tomatoes under simulated Maltese summer conditions. at CHC's test facility Keahole
Point, Hawaii. For CHC's Malta experiment, deep ocean water was mixed with warm
surface water and run through pipes embedded in the ground at a temperature of 15
degrees. Keahole Point, Hawaii was an ideal place to test whether coldwater
agriculture techniques can grow tomatoes in a summer Maltese climatic conditions.
CHC's facility at is subject to similar climatic conditions as Malta during the summer
months. For example, the daily temperatures and the rainfall of late June through early
September for both locations are similar. The experiments demonstrated that so long
as the temperature of the soil is below the dew point adequate condensation for
agriculture will be produced. There are some indications that the fruit will be less sweet
but no quantitative information could be obtained within the budget limitations. A
carefully controlled experiment involving beds of carrots is now in progress as a joint
investigation by CHC and SeaGrant. CANDIDATE 3
MAURITIUSMauritius is a small tropical island, a little larger than Oahu,
in the Indian Ocean about 300 miles east of Madagascar. It is a tropical oceanic
paradise, differing from Hawaii in its hot, wet humid summers and frequent visits from
hurricanes. It has a dense population with a successful economy based on sugar,
textiles and high quality tourism. It's hotels and resorts aspire to be the summa qua
non of the world and they must therefore compensate for the lack of non-tropical fruits
and vegetables, the high cost of air conditioning, and the high cost of electricity. The
resorts themselves are owned by British, French and Swedish capitalists whose
primary interest is the preservation of a private paradise. The small system proposed
here seems tailor made for the resort complex. As a result the largest number of
serious inquiries through a number of different routes have been made and capital for
such a small unit ($5,000,000.00 to $10,000,000.00 is available. Similar "rich and
famous" inquiries have been made with respect to Tahiti and several resort complexes
in Hawaii. There is an initial disappointment when it is recognized that only small
OTEC plants are now feasible, but this is compensated by the ten to one ratio energy
savings to energy production.CANDIDATE 4
KAHOOLAWEThe island of Kahoolawe is a low island sitting across the
channel from Ke-ahole and having access to the same deep ocean water. Because
of the absence of rain the island was sparcely inhabited and was used by the Navy
for target practice during and after World War II. Most of the Island is sacred to the
Hawaiian people and a program has been authorized and funds approved for the
cleanup of the island and its return to its people. The Hawaiians will wish to restore
the ancient lifestyle with a minimum of intrusion by the modern technological society.
Unfortunately the absence of water makes it difficult to grow taro or the previously
mentioned ipu, awa root, and other traditional elements of the diet.
A deep ocean water system can, in an environmentally sustainable manner provide
the missing microclimate for flora and fauna and biological life. For example the algae
ponds of Cyonotech have created a new habitat for the endangered Hawaiian crane.
Other endangered species such as the mountaintop silversword can also be grown
at the Kahoolawe sea level. If the Hawaiian community recognizes the inherent
possibilities associated with the candidate system, funds and political pressure will be
available to make it a realistic alternative.CANDIDATE 5 MIDWAY
ISLAND Midway Island in the middle of the Hawaiian archipelagic chain
has been a territory of the United States sequestered from the State of Hawaii. Its
natural environment has been virtually eliminated by military installations. Plans are
now in progress to end the military use of the Island to assign it to the State of Hawaii
and to establish it as a site for eco-tourism. The rationalization for a deep ocean
system at Malta is similar to that for Kahoolawe except that OTEC itself will probably
not be feasible. Again the combination of funds and politics may make this system a
reality.CANDIDATE 6 KAPOLEI, OAHUStudies by PICHTR
have demonstrated that for densely populated urban communities, air conditioning
alone through deep ocean water is an economic winner. It is however necessary to
install a water distribution system through the community before it is precluded by
other urban and industrial infrastructures. Makai Ocean Engineering has made a study
for the Hawaii Department of Planning and Economic Development with respect to the
new city of Kapolei on the Oahu Kona coast. The new water distribution system is still
embryonic and the Hawaiian Electric company may have difficulty in the installation of
new power sources in time to meet the projected growth. Should Hawaiian Electric
find it necessary to forego the profit associated with the new air conditioning load and
should the pressure for growth continue or accelerate then a window of opportunity
exists for a deep ocean water system of the size of the candidate
system.OTHER CANDIDATESThe six candidates
discussed here are just a few of the many possible small system alternatives. They
have been chosen for discussion here as examples of uniquely different system
requirements. Others that have been postulated include refugee relocation facilities on
Caribbean Islands or Islands in SouthEast Asia, as seed villages for populations in
crisis such as Haiti or the desert coasts of Chile Ecuador and Peru. The uniqueness
and smallness of the systems is such that they will not take root unless a few are
successfully developed as a model for the transfer of this low tech, low cost utilization
of the worlds next greatest energy source, deep ocean water.