Harnessing the ocean's power with no moving parts.

I love machines with few moving parts; they are so -  maintenance free. Here is a simple machine using the Carnot principle that could supply large amounts of power for the price of scraping barnacles off it. 

It reminds me of hydroelectric installations and would suffer the same drawbacks such as power transmission losses and material fatigue (crumbling concrete?). 

Steve

Large-scale, ocean-based thermoelectric power plants would have many advantages. For one, the "fuel" or temperature differences are free, unlimited, and easily accessible. Also, the plants do not take up space on land. Because they have no moving solid parts, they would have low maintenance costs. In addition, the power output does not depend on the time of day or season. And finally, the method is green, as it does not release emissions.Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-12-thermoelectric-power-economically-competitive-renewable.html#jCp