“So this is Christmas, and what have you done? Another year over, a new one just begun.” – John Lennon & Yoko Ono
Diwali, Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa are holidays celebrated around the world at this time of year. While the traditions vary, the holidays all encourage us to be thankful for what we have, to spend time with family, and to be mindful of the greater community, both locally and globally. As such, charity and giving back are particularly emphasized.
Another commonality is that these holidays are all considered festivals of lights. The theme of light overcoming the darkness is familiar to most of us, regardless of our background. What better way to make our world a little brighter than to give back?
Here at Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation (OTE), our mission is to give back to the earth by tapping into our greatest natural resources, the sun and the ocean, to generate environmentally benign energy and water for drinking, sustainable food production, and more. In the process, we’ll improve the lives of about 3 billion people who live in the world’s tropical and subtropical zones. That’s our mission every day of the year.
2016 was a very big year for OTE.
In April, we met with the 31st Legislature of the Virgin Islands to present the results of a 2-year feasibility study regarding Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) and Seawater Air Conditioning (SWAC) on the US Virgin Islands of St. Croix and St. Thomas.
Following this meeting, we submitted an application to become a Qualifying Facility in the USVI. This application was approved in July, thereby enabling us to enter into direct Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) negotiations with the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority to build an Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) plant on the island of St. Croix.
In August, the government of The Bahamas announced that an agreement had been reached with the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of China under which the Baha Mar resort will be completed. And just recently, the new buyer of Baha Mar and representatives of the China Export-Import Bank and China Construction America (CCM) promised the Prime Minister of The Bahamas that they would try to make 700 rooms at Baha Mar available for March – in time for the peak 2016-2017 winter tourism season. OTE is contracted to build, own, and operate a Seawater Air Conditioning plant at the resort.
With seven environmentally sustainable projects in our pipeline, we have even more good things coming. We are poised and ready for 2017 and beyond.
As another year ends and a new year is ready to begin, let’s all think about what we can do to improve and brighten our world in 2017.
