The Ultimate Ocean Ranch

Significant expansion of global food supply will require new advancements of similar impact to the green revolution. The Ultimate Ocean Ranch envisions enhancement of open-sea biological productivity through artificial upwelling of deep-ocean nutrients by means of ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC); food products will be derived by management of integrated “floating grazing platforms”, which could also enhance atmospheric carbon dioxide sequestration and net oxygen production in the photic zone. Some of the required technologies exist; some must be developed. Commercialization of the concept will be required; this in turn will require the fullest possible integration of value-generating activities. We estimate, from typical ecological parameters and from some assumptions that can only be evaluated through research, that about $3.3 M in aquatic food products could be produced annually from the water-pumping capability of a hypothetical 10-MW OTEC plant. This is not a large return on investment, but it precedes research and engineering development; other values will be generated. The urgency of the food problem and the lack of nullifying obstacles indicates further evaluation of this concept