Managing the Transition of Fossil Fuels to Renewable Energy: Application of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion At Sabah

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) existed in the last decade was built in 1930 by Georges Claude, after the thermal energy of the ocean was tapped by Jacques Arsene D‘Arsonval in 1881. However, the technology was put on-halt and discontinued from being developed wisely for realistic application. Since ocean covers more than 70% of the earth s surface, this makes them as the world largest solar collectors for thermal energy creation. The technology generates energy by using the difference of temperature in an ocean with least environmental impact and high sustainability. In this case study, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah has been selected as main location to investigate the geographical criteria, social acceptance and the technical of OTEC as energy generator and feasibility. The research used a mixed method for both data collection and data analysis. This study proved that the application of OTEC in Sabah brings a lot of benefits such as social acceptance, sustainability and energy efficiency compared to fossil fuels. As a conclusion, the OTEC might become one of the main energy sources for people living in Sabah. Transition from fossil to renewable energy, particularly the application of OTEC could be expanded and generalized, to harvest more energy in the coastal areas of all places around the world.