LANCASTER, PA / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2018 / Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation (OTCQB: CPWR) ("OTE" or "the Company"), a project developer for Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) renewable energy plants, announced today that it is planning to actively explore opportunities to combat the intensity and frequency of droughts in the Caribbean with its OTEC technology.
"Drought ranks as the single most common cause of severe food shortages in developing countries, so this is a key issue for Caribbean food security." - Deep Ford, United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization Regional Coordinator in the Caribbean
United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization
Recent reports from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warn that a change in long-term weather patterns is expected to increase the intensity and frequency of droughts in the Caribbean. The FAO is urging countries of the region to enhance their capabilities to deal with this and other extreme weather-related challenges to ensure food security and hunger eradication. The Caribbean already experiences drought-like events every year, with low water availability often impacting agriculture.
Historic Drought and Disasters
For the last 3 to 5 years, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have experienced uncommonly dry weather. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) are in the grip of a historic drought despite extreme rainfall caused by the tenth-most intense Atlantic hurricane on record in 2017.
Before Hurricane Maria, Eastern Puerto Rico, eastern parts of St. Thomas and St. John, and the entire islands of Vieques and Culebra, Puerto Rico, and St. Croix, USVI had been without significant rainfall for an extended period of time. In addition to the island-wide severe devastation caused by Hurricane Maria, over 86% of Puerto Rico and the USVI now have a water deficit, and 25% of Puerto Rico is still without electricity or clean water after nearly one year. Only accelerated by the recent devastation, the USDA has designated St. Croix, US Virgin Islands as a "primary natural disaster" area due to damages and losses caused by the drought, only magnified by the infrastructure damage caused by the recent disasters.
OTE Commitment
Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation (OTE), led by its Chairman and CEO, Jeremy Feakins, who is also a significant investor in OTE, has committed OTE to utilizing the Company's proprietary OTEC technology to combat those conditions in an economical way and without the use of expensive fossil fuels. OTE's technology will provide the rate payers in drought-stricken areas of the world with the highest quality renewable energy services in a safe, consistent, and efficient manner.
Approval from the US Virgin Islands Public Services Commission
After extensive interaction, OTE has received approval (Docket 659) from the US Virgin Islands Public Services Commission (PSC) to build a commercial grade Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) system producing fossil-fuel free energy together with potable and bottled water.
CEO Jeremy Feakins states, "As an entrepreneur, I have always relied on the facts before making an investment or getting involved with a new venture. I got involved with Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation because the facts showed that OTEC technology is ready for commercialization, already operating in a working test plant in Hawaii. OTEC technology can bring relief, a better way of life, and improved health outcomes for millions of people around the world. I believe the future is OTEC."
About OTEC and SWAC
Supporting the efforts for more sustainable living of nations around the world, OTEC and SWAC technologies drastically reduce the output of carbon emissions and produce renewable energy without the use of fossil fuels. This translates to slowing down climate change and cleaning up our atmosphere for a healthier planet for all.
OTEC plants generate renewable energy by "harvesting" the heat in ocean water and using that heat to warm liquids with a low boiling point (such as ammonia) so that steam is produced. The steam is then pressurized so that it can turn a turbine and generate electricity. Cold water then cools the steam and the closed loop cycle continues.
This is the Rankine cycle, and it is as old as the steam engine. OTEC plants are a revolutionary application/use because electricity is continuously created, without the use of any fossil fuels and with little or no negative environmental impact.
About Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation
OTE is a Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based company that designs and develops deep-water hydrothermal clean-energy systems which produce fossil-fuel free electricity through Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), and environmentally friendly cooling through Seawater Air Conditioning (SWAC) without the use of fossil fuels. An important part of the technology is the production of large amounts of water for drinking, aquaculture, agriculture, and economic development.
OTE's technology is ideally suited to tropical and subtropical regions of the world - where about 3 billion people live. It utilizes the natural temperature differential in oceans to generate base-load, 24/7, clean, non-polluting electricity, as well as alternative, energy-efficient cooling systems and fresh water, the latter of which is essential for the entire world, particularly developing communities.
Since the 1970s, OTEC and SWAC systems have been successfully demonstrated and operating in several locations around the world.
For additional information regarding OTE, please visit the company's website at www.otecorporation.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Except for the historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Investors are cautioned that statements in this press release regarding OTE's plans or expectations constitute forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation: a decision by any of the interested parties to not enter into a definitive power purchase agreement; the inability of the parties to successfully negotiate and enter into a definitive power purchase agreement; the inability of the parties to meet every closing condition contained in such definitive power purchase agreement and the protection and maintenance of OTE's intellectual property rights.
Additional information and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are contained in OTE's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the heading "Risk Factors." Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made, and the facts and assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements may change.
Except as required by law, OTE disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future information, events or circumstances.
Contact:
Becky Wink Cooper
[email protected]
717-517-4110
SOURCE: Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation