WPTO Releases Its Annual Accomplishments Report for 2020–2021

DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy sent this bulletin at 03/23/2022 12:00 PM EDT

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Water Power Technologies Office

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March 23, 2022

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

Reach out to us at WaterPowerTechnologiesOffice@ee.doe.gov with any inquiries or suggestions.
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Did You Know?

Only 20 marine energy projects have pursued a federal permit to date, in part because both project developers and regulators are still unfamiliar with the potential environmental effects. Learn more about the marine energy permitting and licensing process and how to navigate federal and state requirements in the new Marine Energy Environmental Toolkit for Permitting and Licensing. The toolkit was created with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) funding by a large team of marine energy experts.

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

Cover of the 2020–2021 Accomplishments Report for the Water Power Technologies Office.

WPTO Releases Annual Accomplishments Report: WPTO released its 2020–2021 Accomplishments Report, highlighting dozens of WPTO-funded research, development, and demonstration projects that contribute to crucial efforts to address climate change and transition our energy system. Read the report to learn about marine energy projects and accomplishments over the past year.

Jennifer Garson Becomes Director of WPTO: After nearly a year serving as acting director, Jennifer Garson has been named the official director of WPTO. In Jennifer’s four years with WPTO, she has designed and led some of the office’s key activities and initiatives, including the Powering the Blue Economy™ initiative and a portfolio of prizes and interagency grants, increasing the impact of federal funding toward nontraditional financial mechanisms. Jennifer’s efforts have been steadily increasing the utilization of prizes, creative lab-directed funding, Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer programs, and other competitive solicitations. Over the last decade, she has worked across DOE, the federal government, and in partnership with the private sector to launch and create new programs, prizes, and commercialization approaches.

Inaugural Multi-Year Program Plan Outlines Future of WPTO-Funded R&D: WPTO released its first Multi-Year Program Plan, detailing the office’s research priorities in the years to come. This comprehensive, forward-looking report outlines strategic plans to advance hydropower and marine energy to help meet the nation’s energy and sustainability goals. The report is organized by activity area and includes objectives through 2030.

Three Students Selected for Graduate Student Research Program To Advance Marine Energy: WPTO recently selected three students for this year’s cohort in the Marine and Hydrokinetic Graduate Student Research Program. The students will advance their doctoral dissertations with access to expertise, resources, and capabilities available across DOE’s national laboratories, industry partners, or other approved facilities. During the program, students will undertake research to advance the understanding and development of renewable marine energy resources.  

Congress Provides Increased Funding to WPTO: On March 11, 2022, President Biden signed the omnibus spending package for Fiscal Year 2022. The package provides $162 million for WPTO. This represents an increase over the office’s prior year budget level and the office’s largest annual budget to date. Visit WPTO’s site to learn more about the office’s budget as well as the hydropower and marine energy funding in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

DOE Awards Oregon State University Funding for R&D To Support Open-Water Testing at PacWave: WPTO recently selected Oregon State University to receive financial assistance for applied research and development to support open-water testing at the PacWave testing facility. This new award will provide a suite of necessary and high-impact R&D activities to support the successful operation and deployment of marine energy technologies at PacWave.

2022 Call for Blue Energy Collaborative Scholarships Proposals: The International Network on Offshore Renewable Energy announced its 2022 Blue Energy Collaborative Scholarships sponsored by Ocean Energy Systems. The scholarships are looking to support work that will advance formative research in the field of offshore renewable energy and promote collaboration and communication amongst early-career professionals from diverse disciplines, institutions, and nations. The grant of up to 1,000€ (or about $1,100) will be put toward travel expenses and accommodation at the research institutes where the collaborative work will take place or be presented. 
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TEAMER Network Director Announces RFTS 5 Technical Support Recipients: The U.S. TEAMER program selected nine projects through its fifth RFTS for testing expertise and access to numerical modeling, laboratory or bench testing, and tank/flume testing. The awards reflect a total funding amount of nearly $900,000 and selected applicants, along with the supporting facilities, will now submit their completed test plans. Applications for RFTS 6 are currently being accepted through March 24, 2022.

The National Science Foundation Encourages Proposals To Support Current and Future Ocean Technologies: The National Science Foundation is encouraging proposals to develop the workforce required to support current and future ocean technologies through a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL). The goal of the DCL is to expand technical capacity in the U.S. workforce through training programs that educate the next generation of ocean technicians, data scientists, ocean engineers, and ocean scientists. The DCL encourages proposals within two categories: 1) Curriculum Development proposals and 2) Student Engagement proposals.

Upcoming Events

Waves to Water Prize Testing and Surrounding Events

March 30–April 12, 2022, Outer Banks, North Carolina

Join the Waves to Water Prize finalists at Jennette’s Pier and the Coastal Studies Institute in North Carolina’s Outer Banks or virtually as the teams demonstrate some of the first-ever wave-energy-powered desalination systems. This event will be a public demonstration of these systems’ real-world functionality and potential. It will also be the first look at brand-new innovations and an opportunity to engage with competitors, DOE representatives, and professionals in the wave energy industry.

Register for this event.

Marine and Hydrokinetic Toolkit (MHKiT) Updates and Demonstration

March 31, 2022, 1–2 p.m. ET, Online

Join the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Sandia National Laboratories, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on March 31, 2022,at 1–2 p.m. ET to learn about new developments in MHKiT, an open-source software package developed in Python and MATLAB that includes modules for ingesting, quality controlling, processing, visualizing, and managing marine energy data. The webinar will introduce new functionality in the package and feature demonstrations in Python. Register now to learn about MHKiT functionality for ingesting modeled and observational river and tidal data, and performing resource assessments.

Register for this event.

WPTO at the National Hydropower Association’s Waterpower Week

April 5–7, 2022, Washington, D.C.

Waterpower Week 2022 will bring asset owners, developers, and other water power industry organizations face to face, with those affecting the resource to discuss waterpower’s role in the clean energy future. Don’t miss the WPTO-focused panel on April 6, 2022, at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Register for this event.

TEAMER: Making Marine Energy Research Accessible

April 27, 2022, 3-4:30 p.m. ET, Online

Learn more about the TEAMER program, presented by the Pacific Ocean Energy Trust (POET). Sponsored by DOE and directed by POET, TEAMER connects marine energy innovators with state-of-the-art facilities for the support, testing, and expertise they need to create the next big advancement in renewable ocean energy.

Register for the event.

2023 MECC Information Session

April 20, 2022, 3-4:30 p.m ET, Online

NREL will host an informational webinar to inform potential competitors about upcoming EERE-funded water power collegiate competition Marine Energy Collegiate Competition (MECC). Learn how to get involved in next year’s challenges, including competition objectives, rules and requirements, timelines, and more! 

Register for the event.

Products & Publications

Women in Power—Water Power: With roots dating back to Women’s History Week, Women’s History Month is a time to recognize and honor women’s contributions to history and their achievements in fields ranging from sciences to arts and literature, and more. That’s why WPTO is taking a moment this month to highlight just a few of the women at WPTO who are helping to advance hydropower and marine energy technologies and move the nation closer to its clean energy future.

Ocean Energy Systems 2021 Report: Ocean Energy Systems, the International Energy Agency’s marine energy technology collaboration program, recently released its annual report. The report overviews Ocean Energy Systems’ activities from the past year and includes updated country reviews. DOE contributed to the U.S. chapter, highlighting U.S. marine energy sector progress in 2021 and preparations for additional technology deployments in 2022.

A Window Into the Future of Wave Energy: DOE funding is catalyzing a partnership between NREL and the University of Massachusetts Amherst to take their variable-geometry, oscillating, surge wave energy converter from theory to practice. This project could help advance wave energy devices so the nation can rely more on its clean, renewable energy to both power and protect our planet. Watch the video highlighting this variable-geometry wave energy research.

The Century-Old Renewable You’ve Never Heard of: Tim Ramsey, marine energy program manager at WPTO, spoke about the potential of ocean thermal energy as a renewable power source to help create a clean energy economy. Tim discussed the importance of freeing ocean thermal energy from its geographical constraints and how that technology is not as far away as it seems.

NREL Successfully Deploys Wave-Powered Desalination Device To Prepare for Waves to Water Prize DRINK Finale: With help from the Coastal Studies Institute, NREL researchers deployed a wave-energy-powered desalination test device and anchored it to the nearby seabed at Jennette’s Pier in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. NREL’s hydraulic and electric reverse osmosis wave energy converter gave the crew a chance to deploy and retrieve a wave energy converter device ahead of the Waves to Water Prize finalists launching their wave-powered desalination prototypes at this location next month at the DRINK Finale. The practice run gave researchers an idea of what to expect during the competitors’ testing.

In Case You Missed It

Equity and Inclusion: How the Water Power Technologies Office Is Building on Its Commitment To Expand Clean Energy Access Across Underserved Communities: Efforts are underway across WPTO to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the forefront of its projects and funding opportunities. As the United States transitions toward a clean energy future, WPTO understands its responsibility to learn from the past, better engage and serve diverse communities, and ensure inclusion and accessibility among groups historically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. 

DOE Opens Lab Call for TCF Applications: DOE recently opened a call for national laboratories to apply for funding from TCF. This year’s TCF reflects new flexibility stemming from modification to the TCF authorizing language passed in the Energy Act of 2020. This greater flexibility allows each office to follow the approach that maximized the ability of TCF funding to “pursue promising energy technologies for commercial purposes.” Full applications are due on April 29, 2022. All application materials must be submitted through EERE Exchange.

Apply Now for ETIPP Technical Assistance: Remote, island, and islanded communities that experience challenges related to frequent energy disruptions, threats to energy infrastructure, and high energy costs can now apply to ETIPP. Applications for technical assistance are due April 15, 2022.

WPTO In the News

Marine Mentions