An Analysis of Florida’s Sea Water Cooling Resource

Abstract

A B S T R A C TA study to assess the sea water cooling (SWC) feasibility in southeast Florida was conducted using simulated and measured sea water temperatures. These data were input into a representative SWC system model to quantify potential energy savings over conventional cooling systems. The HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model was used to characterize near-bottom temperatures statewide, predicting that minimum temperatures needed for effective SWC are closest to the shore off the coasts of Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Numerous in situ data sets recently collected near Fort Lauderdale/Miami are presented alongside several historic data sets to further enhance temperature resource information. These data suggest that a cold water resource with a mean temperature of 8°C-10°C is present off Fort Lauderdale in 160-220 m of water and 7°C-9°C is present off Miami in 200-300 m of water. Both cold water resources are located approximately 6 km from the shore. These temperatures vary significantly at frequencies between 2 days and 2 weeks, with cooler temperatures during the summer suggesting a seasonal variation. An SWC plant model is presented that was used to predict the electric power needed to operate a generic 10-MW (2,857-ton) AC system, which is compared with a traditional unassisted AC system. The plant model, with 3 years of HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model temperature data, predicted that, in South Miami, an SWC system can operate using the least amount of average electrical power in the state. At this location, the chilling system is estimated to operate at an average power savings of 86.9%, and a total comfort cooling system is estimated to operate at an average power savings of 58%, when compared with a traditional AC system.

Seawater Air-Conditioning and Ammonia District Cooling: A Solution for Warm Coastal Regions

“…Possible customers with high cooling demands to connect to district cooling systems are airports [62], data centers [63,64], hotels [35], resorts [34], governmental and military facilities, universities [57], large offices and commercial buildings [65,66], shopping malls [67,68], department stores [69], museums [70], residential districts, industrial processes [57], entertainment facilities [71], artificial ski resorts [72,73], temperate fruits and vegetables farming, food and grains storage [74] and so on. SWAC also reduces heat islands due to air conditioning [75].…”

High velocity seawater air-conditioning with thermal energy storage and its operation with intermittent renewable energies

“…20 1 4 ; K or on e n e t al . 2 01 9 ) , h o t e l s (International Renewable Energy Agency 2014c), resorts (International Renewable Energy Agency 2014a, c), governmental and military facilities, universities (Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation 2015), large offices and commercial buildings (International Renewable Energy Agency 2016; International Renewable Energy Agency 2017b), shopping malls (Li et al 2007;Yik et al 2001), department stores (Song et al 2007), museums (Museu do Amanhã, 06 n.d.), residential districts, industrial processes (Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation 2015), entertainment facilities (Porak et al 2013) (artificial ski resorts (Kim et al 2012;Lee et al 2014)), temperate fruits and vegetables farming, food and grains storage (von Herzen et al 2017), and so on. SWAC also contributes to reduce heat islands due to air-conditioning (Shickman and Rogers 2019).…”

Technical potential and cost estimates for seawater air conditioning

“…Meanwhile, deep SWAC has been applied for cooling services in Keahole Point, Honolulu (Hawaii) [27,28,9,12], Nassau (Bahamas) [16], Aruba [9], Port Louis (Mauritius) [29,30,31,17,32], Bora Bora (French Polynesia) [9,3], Tetiatoa Atoll (French Polynesia) [9], Curação [33], Reunion Island (France) [34]. Deep SWAC has also been considered in Montego Bay (Jamaica) [7], Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic) [7] and other Caribbean Islands [7], Florida and California (USA) [35,36,37], Brazilian Coast [38], San Andres (Colombia) [39], Hal Far (Malta) [40], Taitung (Taiwan) [41], Oman [42], Ghana [43] and Qesm Hurghada (Egypt) [8]. Notice that the last project was disregarded because the temperature of the deep Red sea is around 20 o C as presented in Figure 6.…”