Dutch developer Bluerise has started a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the next stage of its ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) developments.
Over the past few years, Bluerise has been developing its OTEC technology by building demonstration and pilot systems at Delft University of Technology.
The technology is now ready to be scaled up in the Caribbean, with plans for deployment both in Curaçao and Jamaica.
Berend Jan Kleute, Chief Technology Officer at Bluerise, said last week at the Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference (OEEC) that the company has not yet decided whether the first project will be undertaken in Curacao or Jamaica, and that the one of the two projects is expected to be operational by 2019.
Jan Kleute also said: “We have ongoing projects in the Caribbean and for us it is very important to showcase this technology – both the OTEC and deep seawater cooling for the first time commercially and on a large-scale. The crowdfunding campaign will help us get to the financial close for these projects.”
Through the crowdfunding campaign , Bluerise is targeting a figure of €250,000 – having already secured €163,000 with 30 days left until the campaign closes.
Jan Kleute added that the power export capacity of the OTEC plants will initially be around 1MW, with plans for expansion to 10MW and more.