KEAHOLE POINT, Hawaii, August 13, 1999 (ENS) - A unique form of
   renewable energy is being used in Hawaii to irrigate crops. Cold salt
   water from the depths of the Pacific Ocean is being pumped into a
   field at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii on the Big Island to
   provide the plants with water.

   The water never touches the soil or the plants directly, but the cold
   pipes create condensation that waters the garden and eliminates the
   need for conventional irrigation.

   Chilling the roots also makes the plants perform as they would in a
   perpetual spring, allowing artichokes, brussels sprouts, roses and
   other non-tropical plant varieties to bloom in the tropics.

   The method is "a breakthrough for world agriculture," says Dr. John
   Craven, president of Common Heritage Corporation of Oahu which
   developed the technique. "It allows us to convert the desert into a
   sustainable habitat," said Dr. Craven, holder of a degree in ocean
   engineering.

   The Common Heritage Corporation (CHC) was established in 1990 by Dr.
   Craven to develop environmentally sustainable ocean resources. The
   for-profit Hawaiian firm aims to establish self-sufficient
   environmentally, economically and culturally sustainable communities
   in coastal zones and islands that have access to deep ocean water. Dr.
   Sylvia Earle, an internationally famous oceanographer and explorer, is
   a CHC board member.

   The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii has a site on a lava desert
   near Hawaii's Kona International Airport, which pumps water from 2,000
   feet deep to improve the growth of plants and shellfish. The
   experimental cold ocean water garden is one of two dozen enterprises
   at the state research agency.

   The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii (NELH) was founded in 1974 by
   then Hawaii Governor John Burns and Dr. Craven in his capacity as
   Marine Affairs Coordinator of the State. Dr. Craven continued as
   sponsor and chairman of the Board until 1990, when the NELH as an
   independent State Corporation was converted into an Authority under
   the Department of Business and Economic Development.

   The process of cold sea water condensation irrigation creates an
   environment in which nutrients are pumped up the plants at a great
   rate. "The colder the root, the tastier the vegetables," says Dr.
   Craven. "When you harvest, the plant doesn't die; it just keeps
   growing."

   Japan is preparing to launch a commercial spinach-growing operation on
   Okinawa's Kume Island, providing a large-scale test of the process.
   That project is expected to pay for itself.

   The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii was founded to generate
   electricity from the temperature differential between deep ocean water
   and the surface. After several costly prototypes were built and
   tested, it appears that at the current state of technology this method
   of generation is too expensive for practical use.

   But the pipelines created for that project by Makai Ocean Engineering
   of Waimanalo are now being used for the deep ocean water irrigation
   garden. The NELH currently pumps 16,000 gallons of water each minute,
   at 42 degrees F.

   The Hawaii Legislature has allocated $15 million to install a 55-inch
   pipeline that will pump from 3,000 feet down in the ocean. It will
   triple the volume of water for research.

   Other uses for the cold ocean water are being developed. Two of the
   biggest clam and oyster producers in the U.S. use the NELH site to
   cultivate more than 330 million shellfish larvae a year.

   Air conditioning of buildings with cold seawater is also being
   demonstrated at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii. The Lab saves
   more than $4,000 a month over previous costs in the cooling of its
   office and laboratory building.

   Analyses by Makai Ocean Engineering have indicated that for Guam,
   10,000 hotel rooms could be air conditioned with cold seawater and
   that the capital payback period for installing such a system would be
   approximately five to six years.

   Deep lake water, too, can be used to cool buildings. Cornell
   University in New York is using a similar concept to provide air
   conditioning for its campus. The water is drawn from 270 feet beneath
   Cayuga Lake in a system also designed by Makai Ocean Engineering.

   © [20]Environment News Service (ENS) 1999. All Rights Reserved.

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