The South Pacific island nation of Palau signed an agreement with Saga University on Friday to promote technological cooperation and research exchanges for a promising power-generation method that utilizes differences in ocean temperatures.

Palau President Tommy Remengesau and Saga University President Nobumichi Sako participated in a ceremony to sign the agreement at the university in the city of Saga, university officials said.

Ocean thermal energy conversion, developed by the university's science and engineering department, involves generating electricity by taking advantage of temperature differences in the ocean between the surface and 800 to 1,000 meters down.

OTEC is especially suited to tropical or subtropical regions, where water temperatures can differ by more than 20 degrees. The university plans to build a plant in Palau in the near future in cooperation with the country, the officials said.

To commemorate the project, the university was to give honorable doctorates to Remengesau and his predecessor, Kunio Nakamura.