Power/energy: Thermal energy conversion: Tapping the sea depths: Floating energy plants could convert heat stored at different ocean levels to electric power

Initial studies suggest that the potential for electric energy in ocean thermal gradients off the United States and its islands is on the order of 200 GW. By exploiting these gradients, which occur between different depths of the ocean floor, production plants could convert the solar energy stored as heat in the oceans into continuous electricity. That is the hope of a Federal program called OTEC (for ocean thermal energy conversion).