Introduction

What's Our Problem and Why

Who am I

Ocean Rift Geothermal Energy

Ocean Rift Geothermal Power Plant (Figure 1)

Geothermal Source (Figure 2)

Electrical Energy With No Air Pollution

Principles of Operation

Basic Advantages of the Concept

The Potential

Expected Impact

Potential Sites

Water & Mineral Recovery

Water & Mineral Recovery
Design (Figure 3)

The Next Steps

Full-Size Power Plant

Appendix A

Preliminary Cost Estimate

 

Potential Sites

Preliminary studies have yielded the following candidate locations;

• Loihi an active oceanic rift near the island of Hawaii.
• The Guaymas Basin near the Baja Peninsula.
• The Sanata Barbara Channel, and the San Diego Trough off the coast of California.
• The Gorda Ridge off the coast of Oregon.
• The Juan de Fuca Ridge off the coast of Washington State.
• And numerous sites in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

The thermodynamic/economic evaluation will not be limited to the above mentioned sites. Basic data will be gathered from the current literature and consultations with past and present investigators related to the physical conditions existing at several known sites.
If the source is near land, the energy can be transferred to shore with electrical wires and distributed in a conventional manner. In the event that the energy area is remote, the electricity could be used to produce hydrogen gas, which could be shipped to the mainland and combined with oxygen to yield three times the energy per pound as fuel oil. Further, considerable amounts of fresh pure water would be produced as the steam condenses.