A three thousand foot deep trench , the Canal de Ballenas, exists between the small island of Isla Angel de la Guarda and the Baja California coast.

Cold water is drawn into the gulf from the deep Pacific to replace expanding surface water that flows south from the Gulf of California's upper basin.  There is an ample supply of cold water to supply many OTEC plants on both shores.

One feature that is special for this area is that the trench has a strong current flowing north that may require substantial testing and engineering to overcome turbulence around the intake pipes.

The cost of developing this facility is mostly engineering a large complex of plumbing. Economics favor a larger facility because much of the electricity generated b the plant will be used to pump the coolant water, and the relative efficiency increases with size.