Reunion Island (France, Indian ocean) targets the electric energy self-sufficiency by the horizon 2030, via an energy mix made of renewables including ocean energies. This target is part of an ambitious national experimental plan called “Plan Reunion 2030” or
“GERRI” (Green Energy Revolution, Reunion Island). OTEC (Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion) and SWAC (Sea Water Air Conditioning) technologies could be part of this challenging project, coupled with other DOWA (Deep Ocean Water Applications) and sustain the current quick development of this Sub-tropical island which will reach 1 million inhabitants on 2500 km2 by 2030.
In April 2008, ARER (Reunion Energy Regional Agency) and ARVAM (Agence pour la Recherche et la Valorisation Marine) conducted the first characterization mission of Deep Ocean Water (DOW) offshore ‘Le Port’ city coasts. This mission and study aims at:
- Determining the local resource in deep ocean water (DOW) thanks to in situ measurements and 0 to 1000 m DOW sampling.
- Characterizing the access to these depths
- Assessing the economic development potential of the Deep Ocean Water Application (DOWA)
The temperature of 5,1°C (41,18 Fahrenheit) was measured at a 1000 m depth. The complete thermocline and water composition were also analyzed and are presented in this paper. We also conducted an analysis of Reunion island sites of interest with concerns for OTEC and SWAC applications, under the main criteria of bathymetry morphology, water temperature and local city planning projects.
Best sites selection and characteristics shows that SWAC (Cities of Saint Denis and Le Port) and OTEC (Cities of Le Port, Saint Denis and Sainte Rose) could find interesting development in next years in Reunion Island.
