Tapping Into the Ocean's Hidden Energy: Feasibility of A 5 MW OTEC Installation in North Bali

Abstract

Indonesia is an archipelagic country surrounded by water and faces energy challenges due to the low use of renewable energy. Among the potential renewable options, marine energy is a particularly suitable resource given the country’s geographical nature. Based on this discussion, seawater temperature can be used as an alternative ocean thermal en-ergy known as ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) by using the difference in sea surface and deep-sea water temperatures. Therefore, this study aimed to examine OTEC installations in North Bali waters using closed-cycle OTEC calculations for a 5 MW system. Following this objective, we examined the water conditions by considering physical oceanography, such as temperature, currents, wind, and waves. The CTD data were obtained from the OTEC Bali MGI 2017 Team, and the temperature, current, wave, and wind model data were downloaded from Marine Copernicus. In line with this examination, North Bali exhibits warm surface waters and cold deep-sea temperatures that are suitable for OTEC operation. These values were capable of producing a temperature difference (ΔT) of more than 20°C, which is necessary to run the OTEC system, and both surface and deep-sea temperature variability tended to be stable. Fur-thermore, the efficiency value produced was 29.03% -30.78% with net power (Pnet) worth 2.84 MW - 3.22 MW. The wind conditions, surface currents, and waves met the specified conditions. Moreover, the station considered the most ideal for OTEC installation in North Bali waters was L-4, with an efficiency of 30.78%, T of 23.75°C, and the highest average Pnet value of 3.22 MW. These findings provide a technical basis for site-specific OTEC planning and support the potential development of a pilot-scale marine renewable energy system in Indonesia. Additionally, the location was 16.23 km from Kubutambahan District, Buleleng, which was the closest distance to land compared to other stations

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