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DOE issues funding notice for university R&D on marine energy and offshore wind

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DOE issues funding notice for university R&D on marine energy and offshore wind

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) and Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) have released a $14.5 million funding opportunity to support foundational research at domestic institutions of higher education to address challenges facing the marine and ocean renewable energy industries and spur innovation and development.

This opportunity will provide funding for foundational research and development (R&D) activities to advance marine energy and offshore wind technologies, with the goal of more widely deploying renewable energy sources. These activities will help advance the Biden administration’s goals of a clean electricity sector by 2035 and a net-zero-emissions economy by 2050.

Marine energy refers to power harnessed from waves, tides, ocean and river currents, and differences in ocean salt levels, temperatures and pressure. These resources are abundant, geographically diverse and complementary to other renewable energy sources, like wind and solar. While marine energy is not widely deployed across the country, the total available marine energy resource in the U.S. is equivalent to about 57% of all U.S. power generation.

In addition, floating offshore wind has 2.8 TW of potential power in the U.S. If fully developed, this would equate to more than double current U.S. electricity consumption.

The opportunity will fund projects across four topic areas:

Up to $5 million for projects that generate publicly available data and test platforms that will help identify cost reductions and performance improvement pathways for the advancement of marine energy devices.

Up to $1.5 million for projects that advance potential synergies between offshore wind and/or marine energy and aquaculture development (a joint effort between WPTO and WETO).

Up to $2 million to support undergraduate senior design and/or research projects in marine energy.

Up to $6 million to support projects in an open topic area where applicants can propose activities that address the needs of the marine energy industry not covered in other topic areas.

Up to 33 awards between $200,000 and $1,000,000 are anticipated under the Marine Energy University Foundational R&D funding opportunity. Applicants must submit a concept paper by 5 p.m. ET on Feb. 20, 2024, to be eligible to submit a full application.