Studies of Cold Water Pipe Installation for OTEC Pilot Plant in Tahiti

Many years after the first attempts to produce electricity by ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), the French authorities along with some companies decided to study the feasability of a 5 MW OTEC power plant on the island of TAHITI. The presence of a coral reef around the perimeter of the island along with a vertical cliff of more than 100m has made the problems of the cold water pipe very difficult. This paper presents the general conditions in which the study is conducted, and two possible solutions: a) an inverted catenary (2400m long) in which the pipe is only attached at its two extremities. b) a smaller inverted catenary (1000m long) spans the cliff, and is connected to the pipe installed on the deep part of the sea bed. Other possible solutions are presently under consideration.