This quarterly report summarizes work on the following tasks: OTEC methanol; approaches for financing OTEC proof-of-concept experimental vessels; investigation of OTEC-ammonia as an alternative fuel; review of electrolyzer development programs and requirements; hybrid geothermal-OTEC power plants: single-cycle performance; estimates; and hybrid geothermal-OTEC power plants: dual-cycle performance estimates.

An economic feasibility study for a geothermal community heating system has been made for the residential heat load of Cape Charles, Virginia using the JHU/APL GRITS Computer Program. The effects of inflation, interest rates, wellhead temperatures, and the addition of reinjection wells are investigated.

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Laboratory, under contracts with several agencies of the federal government, is engaged in developing energy resources, utilization concepts, and monitoring and storage methods. This Quarterly Report summarizes the work on the various tasks as of 31 March 1981. The Energy Quarterly Report is divided into three sections. The first, Geothermal Energy Development Planning and Technical Assistance, supported by the Department of Energy/Division of Geothermal Energy (DOE/DGE), contains reports on the progress of geothermal-related tasks on which effort was concentrated during the quarter. The second section, Siting of Critical Facilities, supported by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and in-house funds, contains reports on geologic investigations in western Connecticut and areas in adjacent New York, development of seismotectonic domains, and fracture permeability in siting hazardous waste repositories. The third section, Energy Conservation and Storage Techniques, supported by the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), reports on institutional barriers to landfill methane recovery and the need for state legislation.