平成２６年４月に入り、沖縄県海洋温度差発電実証設備が運転を開始してから、丸１年が経ちました。そして、昨年度３月末までの約１年間で、本設備の来場者数は１，５７８人に上りました。（件数にすると約３００件）
人数の内訳をみると、地域別では約８割が島外（そのうち約半数が県外）から訪れており、海外からは８カ国６６名と、遠方より来ていただいた方が多いことがわかりました。また、件数を所属別でみると、多い順に民間企業、個人等（観光客を含む）、官公庁・政府関係者、学校、報道関係者となっており、幅広い職種や年齢層の方々に見ていただきました。（左のグラフ参照）
設備を訪れたきっかけも、メディア（テレビ、新聞、雑誌など）や知人の紹介、他の目的で久米島を訪れて偶然知った…など様々で、「この設備を見るためだけに久米島に来ました」という方も非常に多かったです。
この１年間を通じて、日本が世界の先端を行くこの技術が、日本中そして世界から注目されていることを強く感じるとともに、今年度も多くの方に本設備を見て知って体感していただけるよう、スタッフ一同がんばっていきたいと思います。興味をお持ちのみなさま、ぜひ久米島にお越しください。お待ちしています！
With the beginning of the new financial year April 1 we thought we’d take the opportunity to look back on the last year at OTEC Okinawa. It was our first and an exciting time to meet the many visitors who came to see the world’s only fully operational OTEC facility.
Since the completion of the OTEC Facility we’ve had many interested parties visit from around the world. Last year, nearly 1600 people in around 300 groups toured the OTEC Demonstration Plant and Okinawa Deep Sea Water Research Institute. It was exciting to meet people from various places and discuss OTEC with them. We had a good mix of students, government officials, business people, and tourists come to see the plant.
We’ve also been happy to welcome many guests from outside Japan, with representatives from eight countries interested in either developing OTEC technology or examining the potential use in their waters. If you’re wondering about OTEC, come see it in action.
Throughout the year we worked hard to increase awareness of OTEC in Japan. Several television shows came to highlight the great potential OTEC has for powering the future, with the most widely watched being “Dream Maker,” which created a documentary about Saga University’s Professor Ikegami, a driving force behind OTEC in Japan. Many of our visitors made special trips to Kume Island just to see and learn about OTEC.
We look forward to welcoming new guests in the coming year. We have native English and Japanese staff available to show the demonstration facility and answer questions. We look forward to showing the potential of OTEC for the world.
Dr. Ikegami with Professor Luis Vega (center) at OTEC Okinawa