Jeremy Feakins is an entrepreneur who calls Pequea Township home, his milieu a handsome country estate where horses graze on gently undulating fields.

But ask Feakins about business these days, and he'll tell you all about warm tropical seas.

It's not palm trees and sultry breezes that excite Feakins, but generating electricity by exploiting differences in the temperature of ocean water near the equator.

The seas are ripe for power generation when the water at the surface is at least 36 degrees warmer than the icy depths. Scientists have known this about ocean water for at least 100 years and given the process a name: ocean thermal energy conversion, or OTEC.

Although small-scale ocean thermal generators have shown that the concept works, the world has yet to see a commercially viable plant. Feakins is out to change that.

Pollution-free power

Feakins, 57, has rounded up investors who believe the prospect of higher oil prices and a growing demand for clean energy is finally making OTEC financially feasible. They founded Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation, bought a controlling interest in a Honolulu-based engineering company developing OTEC technology and landed an order to build a plant on a Caribbean island, the name of which Feakins declined to disclose. A $100 million financial package is in place, and Feakins expects the contract to be inked in coming weeks.

"They want to wean themselves off fossil fuels," he said of the island's power utility. "As the Minister of Energy said to me, 'I want to release my nation from the tyranny of oil.' "

If Feakins has made the right call and OTE Corp., headquartered at 800 S. Queen St., achieves the growth he is projecting, then landlocked Lancaster might someday become synonymous with ocean thermal energy conversion, proof positive that some things are beyond prediction.

"As an investor, I'm always getting presented with different opportunities," said Feakins, a native of Britain who in the '90s made his first big splash bringing a vision-screening device to market. "What struck me about OTEC was this was a world game-changer."

It's a claim that has both the ring of hyperbole and a basis in fact. Keep in mind ocean energy is renewable, nonpolluting and plentiful — ideal for tropical islands that now import oil to keep the lights on.

Multiple benefits

OTEC works by piping in warm water capable of vaporizing ammonia or other liquids with a low boiling point. The vapor spins a turbine, and frigid water brought up from the deep turns the vapor back to liquid, keeping the cycle going. "If I can understand it, it can't be rocket science," said Feakins, whose background is finance.

But it's not just the way OTEC cranks out power without greenhouse gas emissions that defines its promise. The cold seawater has a side benefit of low-cost air conditioning. Think of the savings as tons of chilly water help cool a tropical resort.

In addition, deep-sea water is rich in nutrients, making it ideal for raising salmon and lobster. Chilled water also lends itself to cultivating temperate crops in tropical climes. Last but not least, fresh water can be a byproduct of the OTEC process, a boon to a thirsty planet.

"We're going to change the lives of millions of people worldwide," Feakins said.

He may be right, but even if he's mistaken, Feakins' spirit is inspiring. What the world can never have enough of is entrepreneurs willing to dream big for the betterment of the planet and all its people.

jhawkes@lnpnews.com