WPTO Announces Projects to Receive $25M for Open-Water R&D at PacWave

DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy sent this bulletin at 01/26/2022 02:30 PM EST

Bookmark and Share

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.
header

Water Power Technologies Office

Divider

January 26, 2022

Banner announcing the newsletter name "The Water Column" with an image of the ocean at sunset behind it.

Welcome to the Water Column, a monthly snapshot of hydropower news and happenings. This month’s newsletter will take approximately 5 minutes to read.

Reach out to us at WaterPowerTechnologiesOffice@ee.doe.gov with any inquiries or suggestions.
Icon for marine energy.

 

Did You Know?

The most effective locations for capturing tidal energy are those with large differences in tidal range (the difference between high and low tides), tidal channels that become narrower and shallower, and strong tidal currents.

Follow along on the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook channels for more #WaterWednesday content each week.

Upcoming Deadlines

Announcements & Opportunities

Ocean waves in the sunlight.

WPTO Awards $25M For Open-Water R&D at PacWave: The DOE Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) announced $25 million in funding across eight innovative marine energy projects, which will support increased research, development, and demonstration of wave energy technologies and represent the first round of open-water testing at the PacWave South test site off the Oregon coast. Read the article to learn more.

Waves to Water Prize Seeks Sponsors: The Waves to Water Prize—a competition that aims to advance wave energy-powered desalination systems to help provide potable water to communities in need—is seeking in-kind and financial sponsors. When scaled up, this technology has the potential to provide clean drinking water for remote and coastal communities during disaster recovery. Read the article to learn more about the prize and visit the prize website for more information about sponsorships.

RFI Seeks Industry Feedback on Mobile Test Vessel: IDOM Inc. and Florida Atlantic University’s Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center released an RFI to gather feedback on their Mobile Test Vessel. The RFI intends to gather information from developers of tidal current energy on how the Mobile Test Vessel can best support current energy converter testing infrastructure. Responses must be submitted to mtv_survey@idom.com by Feb. 18, 2022.

Applications Now Open for ETIPP: ETIPP is accepting applications for technical assistance from remote, island, and islanded communities looking for increased energy resilience. ETIPP’s collaborative, community-driven approach will help ensure these communities have the skills and tools needed to accelerate their energy resilience planning in the face of extreme weather events and changing economic conditions. The deadline to submit applications is April 15, 2022. Learn more about ETIPP.

Upcoming Events

Wave Energy Converter Design Optimization Toolbox Webinar

Feb. 7, 2022, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m. ET

The Wave Energy Converter Design Optimization Toolbox is an open-source software for conducting optimization studies of wave energy converters and their control strategies. The software uses a co-design approach to find the optimal control strategy for each wave energy converter’s design. This webinar will cover basic concepts for the tool and introduce the new Python package.

Register for the webinar.

R&D Deep Dive Webinar: Marine Energy Testing Needs to Inform Infrastructure Investments

Feb. 9, 2022, 10–11 a.m. ET

Join the cross-lab team identifying areas for future WPTO investments in laboratory testing infrastructure through a marine energy testing and needs assessment. This team—made up of representatives from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and Sandia National Laboratories—will share preliminary analyses on testing needs and discuss opportunities to provide feedback. Feedback from marine energy stakeholders on testing needs will be incorporated into the final analysis that will inform infrastructure investments.

Register for the webinar.

Inaugural Triton Talks Webinar

Feb. 17, 2022, 2–3 p.m. ET

Join representatives from both Triton and WPTO to learn about Triton’s recent field trials and get a look at the marine energy research topics that will be covered in the Triton Talks webinar series. In this series you will learn about marine energy environmental monitoring research from PNNL’s Triton Initiative, supported by WPTO. 

Register for the webinar.

Water Power Technologies Office Semiannual Stakeholder Webinar - March 2022

March 10, 2022, 1–2 p.m. ET 

Join WPTO leadership for a look back at some of their biggest accomplishments from the last year and a preview of what’s yet to come. Plus, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Kelly Speakes-Backman will speak to administration priorities for the coming year as well as the investment in water power projects that will come from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Questions for WPTO may be submitted prior to the webinar by emailing WaterPowerTechnologiesOffice@ee.doe.gov. 

Register for the webinar.

Products & Publications

Ocean Observing Prize Competitors Awarded Additional Resources: This article from WPTO explores the additional support awarded to participants in the Powering the Blue Economy™: Ocean Observing Prize, which challenges innovators to integrate renewable marine energy with ocean observing technologies. Teams are currently expected to test their devices in the summer of 2022. Learn more about the prize.

WPTO’s Role in Supporting Deployment of Marine Renewable Energy Technologies: Sea Technology Magazine recently published an article by Sarah Loftus, a fellow with WPTO, on how WPTO and national labs across the country are working to advance, test, and deploy marine energy technology. The article highlights marine energy device deployments in 2021 and how testing facilities and permitting tools help developers advance their technologies. Read the article.

Introducing Triton 3.0: As the Triton Initiative moves into its sixth year of marine energy environmental monitoring research, the initiative announced the rollout of Triton 3.0—an assembly of projects designed to advance the mission of removing barriers to installing marine energy devices. Read the story.

In Case You Missed It

TEAMER Open-Water Testing Support Now Available: The Testing Expertise and Access for Marine Energy Research (TEAMER) program is now offering open-water testing at either an approved test facility or at the site of the project team’s choice with help from a TEAMER partner. Visit the TEAMER website for more information on the network’s open-water facilities and open-water testing capabilities.

New PNNL Article Details Importance of Microgrids: An article from PNNL examines the impact microgrids have on overall grid resiliency. Researchers found that resilient, hyper-local microgrids provide economic value if designed with the right mix of power sources. Using the Hawai’ian island of Moloka’i as a case study, researchers predicted what would happen if existing diesel energy sources were swapped with marine energy devices as the island seeks to meet renewable energy goals while maintaining reliability. Read the article to learn more.

PNNL’s Harker-Klimeš Joins University Marine Energy Research Community Board: Genevra Harker-Klimeš, Coastal Sciences Division director at PNNL, has been named a founding board member of the newly formed University Marine Energy Research Community (UMERC).

WPTO In the News

Marine Mentions