The decreasing supply, and increasing cost, of fossil-fuel based energy has intensified the search for renewable alternatives. Although traditionally more expensive, renewable energy sources have many incentives, including increased national energy security, decreased carbon emissions, and compliance with renewable energy mandates and air quality regulations. In remote islands where increased shipping costs and economies of scale result in some of the most expensive fossil-fuel based energy in the world, renewable energy sources are particularly attractive. Many islands, including Guam and Hawaii, contain strategic military bases with high energy demands that would greatly benefit from an inexpensive, reliable source of energy independent of the fossilfuel based economy. The oceans are natural collectors of solar energy and absorb billions of watts of energy from the sun in the form of solar radiation daily.