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What’s Inside: This edition of the Water Wire shares prize updates, recent announcements and opportunities, newly released publications, WPTO success stories, and other hot topics.
Continue to follow the Water Wire and emails from WPTO for the latest news and updates from the office. Reach out to WaterPowerTechnologiesOffice@ee.doe.gov with any inquiries or suggestions.
Estimated read time: 6 minutes
Prize Updates
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and NOAA announced the opening of the DEVELOP Competition within the Ocean Observing Prize—a multistage prize that challenges innovators to integrate marine renewable energy with ocean observation platforms. The DEVELOP Competition challenges problem solvers to develop technologies to help us better map, monitor, and understand the ocean, improving our ability to forecast hurricanes and providing an invaluable service to coastal communities.
Offering $2.4 million in cash prizes, access to testing in tanks and at sea, and in-kind support, the DEVELOP Competition comprises three contests—Design, Build, and Splash. Now open, the Design Contest will remain open for 120 days, closing February 16, 2021.
The Ocean Observing: DEVELOP Competition prize team will host an applicant webinar on Tuesday, November 10, at 9:30 a.m. MT. Tune in to learn about some of the resources available to assist competitors and hear answers to questions about the prize rules. The team will also share opportunities for anyone interested in supporting the prize.
Learn more and join the challenge.
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On October 15, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), on behalf of WPTO, announced the 17 teams chosen to participate in the 2021 Marine Energy Collegiate Competition: Powering the Blue Economy™.
The competition enables multidisciplinary teams of undergraduate and graduate students to obtain real-world experience in exploring innovative marine energy solutions to address power needs across the blue economy.
As part of the competition, participants will:
- Create a market research-supported business plan for a next-generation marine energy technology
- Design, develop, and evaluate their proposed devices
- Work on cutting-edge concepts to support resilient coastal communities or provide power at sea.
Learn more about the competition and participating 2021 teams.
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Announcements & Opportunities
WPTO recently announced a Notice of Opportunity for Technical Assistance (NOTA) for Improving Hydropower’s Value through Informed Decision-Making. Part of WPTO’s 2019 HydroWIRES (Water Innovation for a Resilient Electricity System) Initiative, this opportunity will provide hydropower decision-makers—such as hydropower operators, utilities, and system operators—with National Lab expertise and capabilities to address current challenges and capture opportunities for their systems. Learn more about the HydroWIRES Initiative and read the draft HydroWIRES Roadmap.
The Testing & Expertise for Marine Energy (TEAMER) Network Director, Pacific Ocean Energy Trust, recently announced its second Request for Technical Support (RFTS2) for testing expertise and access to numerical modeling, lab testing, and tank/flume testing at an expanded facility network. Applicants can now begin initial consultation discussions with their facility or facilities of choice, a requirement before submitting an RFTS application. TEAMER will be accepting applications November 9 through December 18, 2020. To learn more about TEAMER and the process for RFTS2, please visit the TEAMER website to learn more.
This announcement comes on the heels of September’s announcement of 16 projects selected through TEAMER’s first RFTS. Selected projects will receive technology support with modeling and analysis; laboratory and bench tests; and tank, flume, tunnel, and basin tests. Open-water testing will be available in future RFTS cycles.
Products & Publications
Researchers from PNNL and Idaho National Laboratory earned “Best Paper” at the International Resilience Week conference for their work on hydropower performance related to extreme events. The paper evaluates hydropower’s contributions to grid resilience, including how hydropower flexibility can provide stability and resilience during rolling blackouts, hurricanes, and earthquakes.
Sandia National Laboratories recently released version 1 of its Wave Energy Converter (WEC) Design Optimization MATLAB Toolbox (WecOptTool), allowing users to perform WEC device design optimization studies while leveraging different control strategies. This tool features a pseudo-spectral solution method capable of dealing with both constraints and nonlinear dynamics, which allows the WEC designer to find the best possible power capture performance within system constraints (e.g., maximum power take-off force).
WPTO Success Stories
Ocean Renewable Power Company concluded summer inspection and maintenance of its RivGen® submerged river current turbine system, redeployed it, and resumed operations, sending power to the Igiugig, Alaska, community grid. The WPTO-funded project has achieved more than 7 million revolutions of the turbine to produce power during its 10 months of operation, making the RivGen Power System the longest-operating current energy converter in the United States. During this period of operation, the RivGen device survived a mid-winter frazil ice occurrence, was subjected to mobile debris without observed negative effects, and had a significant amount of ice flow over it from the spring break up of Alaska’s largest lake. Monitoring efforts indicated neither adverse effects to the environment nor impedance to or direct interactions with adult sockeye salmon. Lessons learned from this first year of operation are being incorporated into the design of a second RivGen device.
On October 22, Verdant Power of New York, New York, installed an array of three tidal power turbines with their novel TriFrame™ mounting system at its Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy site in New York’s East River. With support from WPTO, NREL, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Verdant is scheduled to test throughout 2021. The project aims to demonstrate a streamlined installation and maintenance approach as well as long-term system reliability, which will help inform future deployments for both Verdant and others in the marine renewable energy industry. To learn more about the project, view this video and stay tuned for more updates from WPTO as the testing progresses.
In Case You Missed It
For National Hydrogen and Fuel Day, PNNL hosted an “Ask Me Anything” series that focused on the use of hydrogen fuel cells to reduce emissions from U.S. port operations. The conversation offered insights into the zero-emissions fuel and featured questions and answers about safety, barriers to commercialization, the importance of decarbonizing the maritime sector, and more.
On October 15, DOE announced selections for the Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Program (ETIPP), which will provide resources and access to on-the-ground support for U.S. remote and islanded communities that are seeking to transform their energy systems and lower their vulnerability to energy disruptions. The ETIPP network will provide technology-neutral technical assistance that prioritizes local challenges, values, and goals. The program will support at least three cohorts of communities, with an anticipated 12- to 18-month project per community.
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