沖縄県久米島町では、海洋深層水を汲み上げている612mの深さにちなんで、6月12日を「久米島海洋深層水の日」に制定し、毎年イベントを開催しています。
第12回目となる今年のイベントは、台風接近により予定が2回変更され、6月24日(日)に開催されました。
今年の会場は、久米島の海洋深層水や関連商品を紹介、販売する「久米島海洋深層水ふれあい館」前の広場で行われ、幅広い年齢の200名程が来場しました。
イベント当日は、ダンス、エイサー等の島内で活躍する各グループの発表が会場を盛り上げる中、深層水の冷たさを利用したミニプール、流しモズク、福引抽選会、スタンプラリーなど、楽しい企画がたくさんありました。
会場内では、深層水関連商品（海ぶどう、車えび、化粧品、温浴施設チケット、深層水冷熱栽培野菜等）や、深層水関連食材を使った料理（車えび塩焼き、牡蠣網焼き、沖縄そば）や、カレー、ロコモコ等バラエティー豊かな商品や料理が販売されました。
また、深層水関連施設の見学会も行われ、参加希望のあった20名近くの島民の方々に、沖縄県海洋深層水研究所や沖縄県海洋温度差発電実証設備、海ぶどう養殖場、牡蠣養殖研究施設を見ていただきました。
さらに、今回は初の試みとして、発電のミニ実験コーナーも研究所本館内で開催しました。子ども達を対象に様々な発電方法（手回し発電、温度差発電、レモン電池等）の紹介や、発電体験（人力による自転車発電、ペットボトル風車による風力発電）とそのランキング、工作コーナー（ペットボトル風車作り、乾電池で作るモーター）、クイズ（モーターや発電、電球の発明を歴史の古い順に並べる）等、盛りだくさんの内容を実施しました。
会場には70～80名の子ども達と保護者が参加し、自転車を必死にこいだり、ペットボトル風車に好みの色塗りや絵を描いたり、少し難解なクイズを一生懸命考えたり、手回し発電おもちゃを競争させたりと大変なにぎわいでした。
イベントの前日には、沖縄地方の梅雨明けが宣言され、快晴の下大盛況のうちに終了しました。毎年行われているこのイベントは、久米島の海洋深層水がどのように活用されているかを身近に感じていただける良い機会となっています。来年も是非皆様のご参加をお待ちしています。
The 2018 Deep Seawater Festival on Kumejima took place June 24, from 10:00 to 15:00 at the Fureai-kan (Kumejima DSW Tourist Center) after being twice postponed due to typhoon. More than 200 people, from a wide variety of ages, participated this year.
This year there were many fun events including a Dance Performance, Eisa, prize drawings, and with utilization of Deep Seawater, a pool, flowing Mozuku, stamp rally, etc. Deep Seawater (DSW) related products (sea grapes, kuruma prawns, cosmetics, Bade Haus (spa) tickets, and vegetables grown with soil cooled from the cold energy of DSW) were displayed and sold. A variety of food using DSW was also available including grilled prawns and oysters, okinawa soba, curry, etc.
In addition to a variety of music and booths, tours of the Okinawa Deep Seawater Research Center, Sea Grape Farm, Oyster Research Facility, and OTEC Demonstration Facility were also given. For the first time, GOSEA also held an Energy Education area within the Okinawa Prefecture Deep Seawater Research Center main hall with a variety of hands-on learning opportunities. This area included a variety of hands-on power generation methods such as hand-cranked power generation, temperature difference power generation, lemon batteries, etc. In addition there were other power generation experiences including bicycle power generation a PET bottle wind turbine generation. In the working corner, participants were able to make their own bottle wind turbine and test it with a mini-generator and electrical sensing devices. About 75 children and parents participated in the variety of activities and quiz.
We hope to see you next year.
去る2017年12月3日(日)に久米島町で開催されました「第16回久米島町産業まつり」の海洋深層水関連展示ブースに、海洋温度差発電も出展しましたのでご報告いたします。
The 2017 Kumejima Industrial Festival took place December 3, 2017. While in the past the event has taken place at the Gushikawa Community Development Center, this year it was held at Kumejima’s Firefly Dome. The dome provided an expansive area for booths, displays, and shops, while outside, local restaurants hosted stalls with a variety of foods. Despite the rainy weather, hundreds of visitors and islanders attended.
The 5th International OTEC Symposium took place on 
While there were too many presentations to go into detail here, one of the major trends is that there seems to be a consensus that small-scale onshore OTEC is the next step in OTEC development, with several projects moving forward. Japan, 
去る10月30日(月)に、公明党の国会議員および県議会議員の方々が
On July 18, 2017 students from West Yamashiro in Imari City, Saga, and Nakazato Elementary from Kumejima, Okinawa, met online with Saga University’s Institute of Ocean Energy for an online class and discussion. Students from Imari attended at IOES, while students from Kumejima attended from the Okinawa Deep Seawater Research Center. Connected online, both groups received an introduction to Ocean Energy, including OTEC, from Professor Yasuyuki Ikegami, followed by discussions, questions, and introduction of both locals by the students. The collaboration took place as part of a cooperation agreement between Saga University, Imari city, and Kumejima Town.
去る4月24日(月)、鶴保 庸介内閣府特命担当大臣が久米島を訪れました。沖縄県海洋深層水研究所、海洋温度差発電実証設備をはじめとする海洋深層水関連産業の他、久米島高校等も視察いただきました。
This past weekend, we traveled to the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (
The second workshop, which took place on January 14th highlighted the practical applications of renewable energy at OIST and in Okinawa through hands-on workshops with researchers at OIST. In addition to the various fields of research and demonstration proceeding at OIST, we were also invited to share Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) technology with the students in a 1 hour workshop. To this end, we brought the PICO OTEC mini demonstration model to OIST along with other power component demonstrators so that the students could see OTEC in action. Along with a brief presentation, students learned about various working fluids, the basics of turbines and power generation, and the benefits of having post OTEC deep seawater and surface seawater as a resource for industry.
Every five years, Okinawa hosts people of Okinawan decent or relation at the Worldwide Uchinanchu Takiai, a chance for people from around the world to meet Okinawa as it is today, and learn about its history, culture, food, and more. This year, Governor of Hawai’i David Ige led a delegation from Hawai’i to attend the Okinawa Hawaii Cooperation Task Force Meetings and the International Environmental Energy Symposium from the Worldwide Viewpoints of Uchinanchus which took place alongside other Uchinanchu Taikai Events.
Within the busy schedule of their meetings with Okinawan and Japanese officials, the delegation also traveled to Kumejima to visit the OTEC facility and related deep seawater industries. With many similarities between location and culture, both Hawaii and Okinawa host the only fully operational OTEC facilities in the world. Within the framework of the Okinawa Hawaii Cooperation, there have been yearly workshops on Ocean Energy, however, there is growing potential for expanded cooperation amid the growing worldwide momentum in OTEC development.
去る10月21日（金）～23（日）に、沖縄県那覇市内において「第４０回沖縄の産業まつり」が開催されました。今年は第４０回目という節目ということで、特別展として「海洋産業特別展」が実施されました。その中の「海洋エネルギー関連」コーナーにおいて、今回出展の機会をいただき、GOSEAのブース内に海洋温度差発電モデルを展示して、海洋深層水の利用高度化と発電利用に関する普及啓発を行いました。
This event also marked the outside-Kumejima debut of our PICO OTEC model, a small scale OTEC demonstration unit that allows the general public to see inside the workings of an OTEC plant, including an operational turbine. The small model runs with the use of prepared hot and cold water.