Patent ID: 8353162

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a heat engine at a surface of a body of water at time t 0 and time t 1 , wherein t 0 ≠t 1 ; a heat exchanger for cooling a vapor-phase fluid received from the heat engine, wherein the heat exchanger: (a) is at a first depth, d 1 , at time t 0 ; (b) is substantially at the surface of the body of water at time t 1 ; (c) condenses the vapor-phase fluid when at the first depth, d 1 ; (d) returns the condensed fluid to the heat engine while at the first depth; d 1 and (e) is not operational when it is at the surface of the body of water at time t 2 ; and a first flexible conduit for transferring the vapor-phase fluid from the heat engine to the heat exchanger.