 OTEC discharge pipes should be placed in protective trenches to prevent subjecting them to extreme stress during storms and prolonged periods of heavy seas.Also, the mixed discharge of cold and warm seawater may need to be carried several hundred meters offshore to reach the proper depth before it is released, requiring additional expense in construction and maintenance.One way that OTEC systems can avoid some of the problems and expenses of operating in a surf zone is by building them just offshore in waters ranging from 10 to 30 meters deep (Ocean Thermal Corporation 1984).