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Electric power generators need nearby markets, and the Puerto Penasco EDD could buy all the power available. A power conduit from the island to could be dropped on the sea bed without difficulty.
Freshwater for the Puerto Penasco area could be delivered via a pipeline from the OTEC and laid down at the same time as the electric conduit.
A land-based OTEC offers a great opportunity for aquaculture. Cool nutrient-rich sea water is continually discharged from the power plant. If properly designed from the beginning, the water will course through the aqua culture runways before being returned to sea without additional inputs of energy for pumping. Protection from foraging sea birds through enclosures is one requirement, but the other major costs are subsidized by the OTEC
Researchers at Columbia University's Lamont-De-Herty Geological Observatory said in a report::
A one hundred megawatt OTEC discharges enough condenser effluent to yield about 129,000 tons of shellfish annually and a similar quantity of carrageen-containing seaweed.
If the wholesale cost of shellfish is 2.50 per pound, then the shellfish will gross 645 million dollars per year.
The combination of these three outputs from the OTECortez plant make it financially feasible for the gulf, and the environmentally beneficial nature of its operation make it ideal from a sustainable development perspective.
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