U.S D.O.E. Invests $18 Million in Marine Energy and Offshore Wind

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced an investment of more than $18 million for 27 research and development projects focused on advancing marine energy and offshore wind technologies with the goal of more widely deploying renewable energy sources.

These projects at 17 universities, including five minority-serving institutions, will address challenges facing marine and ocean renewable energy industries and spur innovation and development. 

“The oceans hold incredible potential for renewable energy to power homes, businesses, and even offshore work such as marine research,” said Jeff Marootian, principal deputy assistant secretary for DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. “These projects harness the creativity of researchers at universities across the country to spur innovation in marine and ocean renewable energy.”

Marine energy refers to power harnessed from waves, tides, ocean and river currents, and even from differences in ocean salt levels, temperatures, and pressure. These resources are abundant, geographically diverse, and complementary to other renewable energy sources, like wind energy and solar power. While marine energy is not yet widely deployed across the country, the total available marine energy resource in the United States is equivalent to nearly 60% of all U.S. power generation. Even if only a small portion of this technical resource potential is captured, marine energy technologies would make significant contributions to U.S. energy needs. 

Meanwhile, floating offshore wind has 2.8 terawatts of potential power in the United States. If fully developed, this would equate to more than double current U.S. electricity consumption.

Three projects selected through this funding opportunity seek to generate publicly available data and test platforms that will help identify cost reductions and performance improvements to advance marine energy devices. They are $500,000 for Oregon State University; $500,000 to Rutgers University: and two awards of $500,000 and $998,700 to the University of Michigan.

Four universities are working on advancing potential synergies between offshore wind and/or marine energy and aquaculture development. This will provide $375,000 to Boston University; $375,000 to California Polytechnic State University; $497,000 to the University of Hawaii at Manoa; and $375,000 to the University of New Hampshire.

Seven projects that will receive about $500,000 each will support undergraduate senior design and/or research projects in marine energy. They are planned for Baldwin Wallace University, Florida Atlantic University, Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the University of Houston, the University of Washington, and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Other projects that received roughly $1 million apiece will advance additional ideas that support the Water Power Technologies Office’s Marine Energy Program objectives. The universities receiving those grants include Michigan Technological University, North Carolina State University, Oregon State University, State University of New York at Stony Brook, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the University of Michigan, the University of New Hampshire, and the University of Washington. Some of these institutions will receive more than one award in this category.