§ Mr. Formanasked the Secretary of State for Energy what plans his Department has for investigating the potential of ocean thermal energy conversion; and whether he considers that such technology could be used to generate electric power in the waters around the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. EadieMy Department's energy technology support unit maintains a watching brief on all alternative energy sources. As part of this activity, a preliminary assessment has been made of the potential of ocean thermal energy conversion—OTEC—as an energy source for the United Kingdom. This technology is suited to tropical water where a large temperature variation with depth is found. This does not pertain in water around the United Kingdom, and consequently OTEC was not considered to offer an economically viable energy source for this country in the foreseeable future.