Handbook of Energy

Section 19

Ocean Energy

The subject area Ocean Energy provides information about the use of resources of the world’s oceans as an energy source. This may be in the form of mechanical energy from waves, tides, or currents, or in the form of thermal energy from the Sun’s heat. This latter source derives useful energy from the temperature difference between warmer surface waters and colder waters at greater depths. This temperature difference can be exploited by a process known as ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC).

A thorough reader of this book will note that Ocean Energy has a relatively small number of entries compared to others under the Sources theme, even in comparison with other alternative sources such as Solar. This reflects the fact ...