Reply #8: Potable water from the ocean without desalinization as a bonus from energy production [View All]

[philb]

FAU Ocean Power Center of Excellence
As the world's economy grows and strives to meet growing energy demands, the Center is committed to creating, developing and sustaining a new industry that has the potential to provide a clean, reliable and renewable source of energy that can be used to generate electricity, unlimited hydrogen and potable water, as well as providing alternative methods for residential cooling.
http://coet.fau.edu/?p=oceanres

Florida is ideally situated to tap into two major sources of ocean power: mechanical and thermal, the scientists said.
Mechanical power could come from the Gulf Stream, which flows northward off the southeast Florida coast and carries more than 8 billions of gallons of water a minute — 30 times the total flow of all the world's freshwater rivers, Driscoll said.
He envisions fields of turbines, similar to those now being used to harness wind energy, suspended hundreds of feet beneath the waves and generating power that could be directly carried to shore.

Thermal power is produced by the interaction of warm and cold water. The greater the temperature difference, the more power can be generated.
Florida, where the warm Gulf Stream overlays cold water flowing from the Arctic, has one of the world's greatest ocean temperature differences, according to information provided by FAU.
Among the byproducts of thermal energy would be fresh water and hydrogen, which could be used to augment natural gas or as a direct source of energy, Driscoll said.

Another thermal source would be the direct use of ultra-cold water for commercial air conditioning. Over 10 years, Driscoll predicted, the use of cold ocean water could reduce Florida's demand for hydrocarbon-based energy by 20 percent.
(Note: you get potable water as a byproduct of the energy processes)

http://www.coxwashington.com/hp/content/reporters/stories/2007/05/07/BC_OCEAN_ENERGY_ADV07_COX.html