As the year draws to a close, we want to share with you a summary of the progress and accomplishments that we have achieved in 2023. We are glad to have participated in different events and meetings with governments, and have made significant advancements in our first-of-a-kind 1.5MW floating OTEC platform.
We invite you to take a look at what we have accomplished this year at Global OTEC. By doing so, you can stay connected with us and prepare for even more exciting developments in 2024!
January
Participation in the 13th session of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Assembly, held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, from 13-15 January, as a member of the SIDS DOCK Delegation. Global OTEC was represented by Neil Reynolds, our Board Director, who is also a SIDS DOCK Special Advisor and a member of the SIDS DOCK Island Women Open Network (IWON) Committee. The delegation advocated for the deployment of ocean-based and waste-to-energy technologies, with a focus on Global OTEC’s 1.5MW floating OTEC platform, Dominique.
February
Visit to São Tomé & Príncipe for the 1st Project Steering Committee Meeting, holding discussions on the implementation of Dominique, the first-of-a-kind commercial OTEC platform, that will transform the energy landscape within the country and other tropical island states.
March
Visit to the Turks and Caicos Islands to explore OTEC as a potential source of renewable energy by meeting the government. During the trip, our team also tried to conduct a field study off Providenciales, to measure cold deep ocean water. From a deep sea fishing vessel (60′ Heritas) we sent two Aqualogger 520s (by Aquatec) successfully to 300m, which confirmed our dataset from the World Ocean Atlas (WOA) by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). On a second attempt to reach 1,000m, a 200-pound swordfish sabotaged our work and snatched the probes as they were ascending.
April
We’ve received our first Certificate of Approval for the methodology of installation of a Cold-Water Riser, for an offshore OTEC platform, by Marine Warranty Surveyor company ABL Group.
Launch of an interactive map on our website, where is possible to navigate over 100 territories in the world where OTEC can work.
May
Leaders from 20 Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) announced their approval of the Global Ocean Energy Alliance (GLOEA), highlighting our OTEC platform.
Testing of a cylindrical hull OTEC structure and cold water pipe under the PLOTEC consortium, which we are part of. The project will design and validate an OTEC platform capable of withstanding the extreme weather effects of the tropical area of the ocean, with a viable cost model, validated by a scaled demonstration of a structure.
June
Award of Approval in Principle (AiP) by Lloyd’s Register (LR) for our OTEC system, providing early confidence that our technology is capable of being appraised against existing codes and standards.
Launch of an OTEC explainer video in celebration of World Ocean Day.
Roundtable discussion with Grenada’s government to present and explore the potential for OTEC projects.
July
Support from the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) for the development of the first floating OTEC platform in São Tomé and Príncipe, as UNIDO signed a contract for an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Scoping Report with the Lisbon-based engineering consultancy AQUALOGUS Engenharia e Ambiente Lda.
August
Signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with French company ENOGIA, to develop key subsystems of the first commercial-scale OTEC floating platforms.
September
Attendance at the Offshore Europe conference and exhibition, Scotland.
Participation at the 7th Session of the Assembly of SIDS DOCK.
Updates on our video content on YouTube, focusing on helping generate awareness about OTEC and its benefits.
October
Mission to Fiji for an OTEC Pilot Project, supported by the Global Ocean Energy Alliance (GLOEA). The initiative, backed by UNIDO, was conducted by our technical experts, who have met national and regional stakeholders in Suva, Fiji.
Visit to São Tomé and Príncipe to engage with local partners for developments on our 1.5MW floating OTEC platform.
November
We had the opportunity to host a Solution Session at the International Vienna Energy and Climate Forum 2023 (IVECF), where advanced concepts of our floating OTEC platform, Dominique, were unveiled. The updated layout was presented during the Solution Session “Driving the blue and green economy aspirations of São Tomé and Príncipe through OTEC”.
December
Participation at a side event at COP28, presenting our project for São Tomé and Príncipe and hearing Small Island States (SIDS) claim for OTEC for their renewable energy transition.
Signature of collaboration with 2H Offshore, focusing on the development of floating OTEC, with emphasis on Water Intake Riser (WIR) systems.