The Input Analysis of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion R&D Projects in Taiwan

Published at Sci-Tech Policy Review International Journal, December, 2008

The Input Analysis of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion R&D Projects in Taiwan

Cheng I Lai / Researcher

Science & Technology Policy Research and Information Center

National Applied Research Laboratories

1. Analysis Background and Aim

The Sun is the most significant source for providing the Earth’s energy. The ocean, covering a little more than 70% of the Earth’s surface, is the largest collection and storage system of solar energy and has an enormous energy potential. The investigation of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization addresses that the total amount of global ocean energy is approximately 73,600,000 MW (Ho, 2003). Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is one kind of ocean energy applications, utilizing the temperature difference between warm surface seawater and cold deep seawater to generate electricity. According to the estimate by Avery and Wu (1994), a flow with rate of 3 m³/s is able to produce net electricity of 1 MW. As a result of the immense amount of seawater on the Earth, OTEC can produce tremendous amounts of electrical power. The global installation capacity of OTEC plants may approach 19,000,000 MW (Wu, 2007) and the global electricity generation, based on the evaluation of International Energy Agency (IEA), may be 10,000 billion kWh annually (IEA, 2006). Because the Sun provides OTEC’s heat source which is endless and stable, the advantages of OTEC system are being base load electricity and free of fuel with nearly no environmental pollution. Apart from electricity, the diversified benefits also include mariculture, desalinated water, and so on.

Taiwan is so adjacent to the “Warm Pool”, the highest temperature marine in the world, that Taiwan possesses a geological superiority for tapping OTEC energy. In 1979, the University of Hawaii conducted an investigation and then concluded that eastern Taiwan marine was the optimal site for exploiting OTEC energy in the whole world (Chen, 2007). Referring to the study of the Master OTEC Plan for the Republic of China (MOPR) executed in 1993, the theoretical reserve of OTEC power generation is around 30,000 MW within 30km off eastern Taiwan coast (Taiwan Power Company [TPC], 2006). In view of the installation capacity of 45,091 MW in Taiwan in 2006 (Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs [MOEABOE], 2007), OTEC will be an important contributor to power supply in Taiwan in case of being exploited successfully. The global progress of large-scale OTEC development resulted from the oil crisis in 1973. Then its progress became slow because of economic consideration as well as “cheap oil oriented” energy policy in most countries (TPC, 2006). Due to the situation variation in terms of energy, environment and economy in recent years, renewable energy has become one of the crucial centerpieces of energy development in the world. Also, the R&D related to ocean energy has been resurged in Taiwan. Since literature analysis is a valuable reference to either research implementation or policy strategy making, and such a topic has never been studied in Taiwan, in this paper the OTEC R&D projects and doctorate dissertations as well as master theses conducted in Taiwan over the past years are collected. After compiling the collected materials, a few characteristics and drawbacks with respect to research orientation, authority in charge, executive institution, R&D expenditure, and implementation period are studied. Some suggestions are given for relevant fields’ reference. It is expected to figure out the future development orientation of OTEC in Taiwan and to facilitate the exploitation as well as the application of OTEC.

2. Data Collection and Compilation

Owing to the occurrence of oil crisis in 1970s and the successful implementation of OTEC pilot projects in the USA and Japan, a number of R&D programs associated with OTEC have also been initiated in Taiwan since 1980s. In order to examine the input efforts, the research method adopted in the paper is to search all of OTEC R&D projects done in Taiwan as of January 31, 2008 via “Government Research Bulletin (GRB)” on the website of Science and Technology Policy Research and Information Center under National Applied Research Laboratories (STPI), “Specific-topic Research Project Data Query ” on the website of National Science Council (NSC), and the websites of TPC, MOEABOE, Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Google and so on. Moreover, the research results from the “STPI Energy Program Office” project and from “The Expansion Project of Energy Program Office” which were sponsored by NSC respectively in 2005 and 2006 are taken into account. By deleting those projects which do not take OTEC as a major study theme, 25 projects are finally selected and compiled, as shown in Table 1.

Table 1 The OTEC R&D projects conducted in Taiwan over the past years

Project Title	Authority in Charge	R&D Expenditure (Thousands)	Implementation Period	Executive Institution
1. A large-scale hydrographic survey at the offshore area of eastern Taiwan	TPC	800	1981.7~ 1981.9	Institute of Oceanography in National Taiwan University (NTUIOC)
2. The environmental information investigation of candidate plant site – Bathymetric surveying of candidate plant site	TPC	3,400	1982.10~ 1983.7	Naval Hydrographic & Oceanographic Bureau
3. The environmental information investigation of candidate plant site – Physical oceanography and bottom sampling investigation of candidate plant site	TPC	11,050	1983.5~ 1985.12	Institute of Oceanography in Chinese Culture University
4. The environmental information investigation of candidate plant site –Geophysical Exploration of candidate plant site	TPC	1,600	1983.7~ 1984.1	HCK Geophysical Company
5.Feasibility evaluation of OTEC power generation and conceptual design of power plant at the offshore area of eastern Taiwan	TPC	8,700	1984.8~ 1985.10	USA Giannotti & Associates International Inc.
6. The Preliminary feasibility study of mixed OTEC power generation	Energy Commission under Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEAEC)	2,000	1987.1~ 1988.1	TPC
7. Multiple product OTEC project (MPOP)	MOEAEC	N/A	1988~	The Pacific International Center for High Technology Research (PICHTR)
8. The preliminary feasibility study on the OTEC multiple applications	MOEAEC	6,390	1988.4~ 1989.9	TPC, Department of Civil Engineering in National Chiao Tung University, NTUIOC
9. The environmental information supplementary investigation of Proposed Ho-Pin OTEC power plant site (The offshore seabed investigation of Ho-Pin plant site)	TPC	6,500	1990.3~ 1991.11	NTUIOC
10. The on-land and near-shore topographic survey of Jhang-Yuan OTEC power plant site	TPC	2,000	1991.12~ 1992.6	TPC
11. Master OTEC plan for the Republic of China (MOPR)	MOEAEC	N/A	1992	Energy and Resource Laboratories of ITRI (ITRIERL, T.Y. Lin International
12. The study on the seawater pipeline technology of Jhang-Yuan OTEC power plant	TPC	3,740	1992.3~ 1993.8	College of Science and Engineering in National Taiwan Ocean University
13. The MPOP development project---Planning of deep-sea cold water	Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan (COA)	950	1992.7 ~ 1993.6	NTUIOC
14. Marine geophysical site investigation of proposed OTEC power plant	Department of Industrial Technology, Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEADOIT)	5,000	1992.7 ~ 1993.12	NTUIOC
15. The OTEC international cooperation project	MOEADOIT	10,850	1992	ITRIERL
16. (III) The MPOP development project ---Planning of deep-sea cold water to cultivate marine biological resource (III)	COA	540	1993.7 ~ 1994.6	NTUIOC
17. The OTEC international cooperation project	MOEADOIT	8,800	1994.7 ~ 1995.6	ITRIERL
18. Ocean energy technology project	MOEADOIT	10,000	1995.7 ~ 1996.6	ITRIERL
19. Ocean energy technology project	N/A	8,000	1996.7 ~ 1997.6	ITRIERL
20. A study on thermal energy conversion	NSC	224	1997.8 ~ 1998.7	Electrical Engineering Department in Kung Shan Institute of Technology
21. OTEC utilization study project	MOEAEC	9,900	2001.5~ 2002.4	Sinoteck Engineering Consultants, Ltd.
22. Development of numerical techniques for estimating ocean energy distribution and assessment of exploitation	MOEABOE	4,400	2005.9 ~ 2005.12	Energy and Environment Research Laboratories of ITRI (ITRIEEL)
23. A survey of high ocean energy potential areas in Taiwan by experimental and analytical methods	MOEABOE	9,000	2006.3 ~ 2006.12	ITRIEEL
24. Feasibility study and preliminary design of a hybrid OTEC pilot plant	State-owned Enterprise Commission under Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEASEC)	1,981	2007.11 ~ 2007.12	Department of Marine Engineering in National Taiwan Ocean University
25. A study on the optimal parameter design for multiple OTEC power plant	NSC	451	2008.1 ~ 2008.12	Department of Electrical Engineering in Ching Yun University

Source: Author compilation.

3. Data Analysis and Discussions

First of all, the research theme of domestic OTEC R&D projects over the years is analyzed. According to the project titles shown in the first column of Table 1, it can be obtained that the majority of the 25 projects focus on environmental investigation. The number of such projects is 9. Then, in turn, there are 6 projects and 4 projects related to the planning of application mode and the analysis of development feasibility respectively. Four projects discuss the design and technology of power plant and 2 projects are classified into international cooperation programs. Considering the 4 projects within the period of 2005 and 2008, 2 projects with more R&D expenditure still emphasize reserve analysis, the evaluation of exploitation orientation, and the assessment as well as the utilization of high ocean energy potential areas. It implies that the OTEC R&D in Taiwan is currently still at the stage of survey as well as planning and the technology establishment in terms of power plant construction as well as operation is significantly lacking. Apparently, the depth and breadth of OTEC R&D are deficient. Based on Table 1, on the other hand, it can also be found TPC and MOEABOE (including the former MOEAEC) are core authorities in charge of OTEC R&D in Taiwan. From 1980 to 1992 the projects done by TPC consisted of, in the early stage, the investigation of environmental information, the feasibility evaluation of power generation along with the conceptual design of power plant, the supplementary investigation of environmental information, and, in the later stage, the technology study of power plant pipeline. The planning and the progress of these projects are sort of reasonable and correlative. From 1987 to 2006, conversely, MOEABOE repeatedly carried out a few projects associated with environmental investigation, the planning of application option as well as the analysis of development feasibility. The organization of these projects shows less integrity. The majority of specific projects subsidized by NSC are individual-based programs, generally initiated and applied by each college. Therefore, the research orientation of these projects is inevitably diversified. To amend this shortcoming, NSC has increasingly encouraged academic researchers to come up with integrated projects. Additionally, one concerned phenomenon is that similar projects are often implemented over and over again by various authorities in charge, such as environmental investigation of OTEC power plant site, multiple application of OTEC, and so on.

With reference to authority in charge and executive institution of OTEC R&D projects in Taiwan, Table 1 illustrates that the authorities in charge include TPC, MOEABOE, COA, MOEADOIT, NSC, MOEASEC, and so on. Among them, TPC undertook 8 projects, the most of all, during the period of 1980 and 1992. MOEABOE, completing 7 projects, ranks the second and then MOEADOIT, 4 projects, in turn. Since the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) is the competent authority of energy affairs in Taiwan, as compared by ministry, MOEA and its subordinate units are the uppermost authorities in charge, performing 21 projects which account for more than 80% of the total. COA and NSC are the rest ministries, conducting 2 projects respectively. Moreover, OTEC has not become a cross-ministry R&D issue yet. On the other hand, the key executive institutions of OTEC R&D projects in Taiwan mostly come from domestic academic and research ones. Six colleges totally implement 11 projects and then corporation institutions carry out 8 projects. Among these executive institutions, NTUIOC and ITRIEEL (including the former ITRIERL) are the main forces. NTUIOC conducts 6 projects which, however, are all prior to 1995. Later on, ITRIEEL becomes the vital one and completes 7 projects. TPC acts as both authority in charge and executive institution, undertaking 3 projects by 1992. Private institution only implements 1 project. This demonstrates that Taiwan’s OTEC R&D over the past years centers on few institutions in the industrial, academic, and research fields. The abundant R&D resources in various aspects are not employed well to build up and to advance the R&D competence of private R&D sectors. As to foreign institution, there are three American institutions participating parts of projects but other important countries of OTEC R&D, such as Japan, Indian, are not involved. Since 1993, no more foreign institution has participated Taiwan’s projects.

With reference to R&D expenditure, apart from MPOP and MOPR which expenditure are unknown, only 3 projects out of the rest 23 projects have expenditure above 10 million NT dollars. Eight projects have expenditure in the range of 5 to10 millions and eight in the range of 1 to 5 millions. There are 3 projects with expenditure less than 1 million. In accordance with NSC’s large project which has expenditure of more than 10 millions, most OTEC R&D projects in Taiwan can be classified into medium ones. All of the corresponding authorities in charge are MOEA and its subordinate units. The projects with expense below 1 million dollars are mainly from NSC and COA. Taking account of annual invested expenditure, it is generally less than 10 million dollars each year with the exception of 1983, 1992 and 1995. As compared to the technology activity expenditures of NSC and MOEA which were respectively 40.75 billions and 25.47 billions in 2006 (NARL, 2007), it just occupies a relatively tiny percentage, indicating OTEC R&D has not been favored by Taiwan’s government yet. Especially, NSC, which takes charge of the most R&D budget among the ministries, subsidizes two projects with the sum of 0.675 million dollars, even lower than the sum of 1.49 millions resulted from two projects supported by COA. Moreover, it can be found from Table 1 that since 1981 R&D expenditure has been invested year by year and reached a maximum amount in 1992. With the end of energy crisis and due to the lower economic effectiveness of OTEC power generation at that time, OTEC R&D has been gradually shrunk and then terminated since 1996. There was no more R&D expenditure input from 1998 to 2004. However, the expenditure was increasingly restored after 2005.

Finally, the implementation period in terms of each project is discussed on the basis of Table 1. There are 25 projects conducted from 1981 to 2008, addressing less than one project averagely per year. Besides MPOP and MOPR which implementation periods are unknown, there are 19 projects with less than one year period, 3 projects with less than 2 years, only one with more than 2 years and none with 3 year period. This finding shows that most of Taiwan’s OTEC R&D projects can be classified into short-term programs. Because each project usually gets a small amount of R&D expenditure annually as well, therefore, it is difficult to organize long-term, integrated research programs. Also, it is difficult to initiate cooperation programs with international leading R&D institutions so as to offset the weakness and to promote competence in terms of Taiwan’s OTEC R&D. On the other hand, in view of project number and invested R&D expenditure by taking 5 years as an interval, it can be recognized from Table 2 that the 1980s is the growth stage of OTEC R&D in Taiwan, with other stages as follows: the early 1990s the prosperity stage, the late 1990s the decline stage, the early 2000s the dormancy stage, and the late 2000s the restoration stage. The evolution process is quite similar to those of the USA and Japan.

Table 2 The project number and invested expenditure of Taiwan’s OTEC R&D

	1980-1984	1985-1989	1990-1994	1995-1999	2000-2004	2005-2009
Project Number	5	3	9	3	1	4
Invested Expenditure (Thousands)	25,520	8,390	38,380	18,224	9,900	15,832

Source: Author compilation.

4. Summary and Suggestions

According to the above analysis, in summary, OTEC R&D has been done in Taiwan for almost 30 years, same as in the USA and Japan, and the invested expenditure is more than a hundred million NT dollars. However, the R&D depth and breadth is significantly deficient because of the lack of sound incorporation among industry, government, academia and the research community. Up to now research themes are still limited to investigation as well as planning, but the construction, operation as well as maintenance of power plant have no concrete progress. MOEABOE is the competent authority of national energy affairs and TPC is the largest national enterprise in charge of power generation, power transmission and power distribution. Although both of them are the supreme authorities in charge related to domestic OTEC R&D projects over the past years, they negatively remain taking a wait-and-see attitude toward the OTEC development. The planning of R&D projects still lacks long-term, foresighted, and integrated considerations. Most projects are implemented within one year and have no relevant follow-up projects, therefore, they are in lack of continuity. Moreover, similar projects are repeatedly carried out by different authorities in charge. In addition, the invested R&D expenditure is insufficient. Typically the OTEC R&D budget is less than 10 million dollars annually in Taiwan, occupying a relatively low percentage in governmental technology activity expenses of 91.75 billions in total in 2006 (NARL, 2007). Moreover, the coverage of R&D project executive institutions is too narrow. They center on specific colleges as well as incorporation research institutions, however, few private sectors are involved. The abundant R&D resources existing in various fields are not utilized well to cultivate or to advance the competence of private R&D sectors. Also, it seldom organizes cooperation programs with international renowned R&D institutions to offset domestic R&D weakness and to enhance domestic R&D competence instantly.

In light of the above discussed shortcomings, it is suggested that the development of OTEC from R&D phase to commercialization phase needs to invest considerable resources. Currently, however, private sectors have no strong investment aspiration because the development of OTEC is still at an initial stage in Taiwan and the market with economic incentive has not been set up. As a result, R&D resources still need to be provided first by the government to establish relevant technology and industry so as to attract more and more private sectors’ participation. There are a few competent authorities of energy affairs in Taiwan and at present there exists several cross-ministry platforms for their integration and coordination. However, each of them usually proceeds parts of energy related affairs and, in the situation of lacking any interaction and coordination mechanism in between, their information cannot be exchanged so that their programs may often have conflicts (Lai, 2007). Consequently, the top priority is to create an integration mechanism to improve the deficiency of horizontal communication among ministries and to strengthen the vertical development planning inside individual ministry. It is proposed to reinforce the function of the Energy Policy and Technology Development Steering Group of Executive Yuan which has operated for years. The Steering Group should actively consolidate the opinions from domestic industry, government, academia and the research community and then make use of the R&D resources from all fields to carry out long-term, integrated programs. In addition, more academic and research institutions have to be involved to participate R&D projects so as to get better comprehensive achievements. For example, National Applied Research Laboratories (NARL), founded in 2003, comprises the national laboratories originally subordinate to NSC. Several NARL units, such as National Center for Ocean Research, National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering, National Space Organization, Instrument Technology Research Center, National Center for High-performance Computing, National Center for Typhoon & Flood Research, and Science & Technology Policy Research and Information Center, possess experts and equipments for the need of performing OTEC R&D. It is clear that NARL is capable of being one of important members of OTEC R&D teams in Taiwan. In addition, it’s better to search international cooperation in order to quickly promote domestic R&D competence, based on the previous domestic experience in terms of conducting International OTEC Association (IOA).

References

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