water ducting 125 however the center column 112 may also be connected to the columns along the entire length of the columns for example as shown in fig5 thus resulting in a structurally stronger platform in order to provide access to warm water the top of the power module is preferably close to the ocean surface for example the top of the power module may be 10 meters from the ocean surface 130 cold water is transported up the cold water pipe 115 to the center column 112 and then through the cold water ducting 125 cold water is then piped through the columns 110 to the power modules 120 warm water is accessed near the top of the power modules through a warm water inlet not shown after having been used the water in the power modules is returned to the ocean through water outlets not shown the location of the water inlets and outlets may be determined by the specific otec system configuration utilized within the power modules the columns 110 the center column 112 the cold water pipe 115 and the power modules 120 may be formed using well known semi submersible materials for example the various components of platform 100 may be made from steel or lightweight concrete moreover the cold water pipe may also be formed from other materials such as.