摘要: The oceans are the world's largest solar energy collector and storage system. Covering 71% of the earth's surface, they collect and store this energy as waves, currents, and thermal and salinity gradients. The purpose of the US De... 展开 The oceans are the world's largest solar energy collector and storage system. Covering 71% of the earth's surface, they collect and store this energy as waves, currents, and thermal and salinity gradients. The purpose of the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Ocean Energy Technology (OET) Program is to develop techniques that harness this ocean energy cost-effectively and in a way that does not harm the environment. The program seeks to develop ocean energy technology to a point where industry can accurately assess whether the technology is a viable energy conversion alternative, or supplement, to current power-generating systems. In past studies, DOE identified ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), which uses the temperature difference between warm surface water and cold deep water, as the most promising of the ocean energy technologies. As a result, the OET Program is concentrating on research that advances the OTEC technology. The program also continues to monitor and study developments in wave energy, ocean current, and salinity gradient concepts; but it is not actively developing these technologies now. 13 figs. 收起