Structure and material for the CWP for OTEC Tahiti experimental plant

IFREMER, a French public body devoted to research and development, and ERGOCEAN, a groupment of seven French companies who have an interest in the field of energy and ocean resources, are developing on a cost-sharing basis a 5MWe OTEC Pilot Plant to be located in Tahiti. Due to the importance of the deep-ocean operation feasibility to the overall feasibility of the Project, a large part of financial and human effort has been devoted to the study of all aspects of conception, construction and deployment of the cold water pipe. The purpose of this paper is to present the reasons for selecting the proposed configuration and material. The qualification tests of the production method, the functions of elements and the possible alteration of material due to submarine environment will also be described.