WPTO Publishes Its 2022 Peer Review Report

DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy sent this bulletin at 02/15/2023 12:00 PM EST

Bookmark and Share

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

Water Power Technologies Office

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

Feb. 15, 2023

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

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

Did You Know?

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) has a playlist of videos on YouTube designed to help increase your knowledge about marine energy. Whether you want to see the latest WPTO-supported deployment or review the basics, WPTO’s video playlist has you covered.

Upcoming Deadlines

Looking for more detailed information on the latest funding opportunities and events related to water power? Make sure you subscribe to The Water Wire! Find the next issue in your inbox next on March 8, 2023.

Products & Publications

WPTO Publishes Its 2022 Peer Review Report: WPTO released its 2022 Peer Review report, which details major takeaways from the office’s latest peer review, conducted in July 2022. The purpose of the peer review was to evaluate WPTO-funded projects for their contribution to the office’s mission and goals, progress against stated objectives, and the office’s overall management and performance. Takeaways from the peer review are used to inform programmatic decision making, enhance active project management, and modify or expand existing projects. 

Water Power Successes in 2022 Help Advance Clean Energy Goals: Throughout 2022, WPTO-funded projects at national labs, academic institutions, and industry partners who are working together to help reach a clean energy economy. From selecting $25 million in projects that will represent the first round of open-water testing at the PacWave South test site to hosting the conclusion of the 2022 Marine Energy Collegiate Competition, WPTO is supporting its partners and the future workforce focused on advancing the marine energy industry. Want to learn about more achievements from WPTO-supported projects? Keep an eye out for the office’s 2021–2022 accomplishments report, coming in the next few weeks.

People Advancing Water Power: WPTO’s Ripple Effect series showcases the amazing people whose impactful work will help advance water power technologies and enable a clean energy future.

    • Sarah Moore: A 2021 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy fellow working in WPTO, Sarah Moore helped advance efforts to make DOE funding and the broader clean energy innovation space more accessible and inclusive to people from underrepresented backgrounds and used her engineering skills to help communities solve their infrastructure challenges. Read how these and other experiences impacted the way Moore looks at solving big challenges like climate change.
    • Jake Herb: Jake Herb, another AAAS fellow in WPTO, helped the budding marine energy industry build technologies that serve real community needs and comanaged a few research projects at the national labs focused on integrating marine energy devices with microgrids in rural and remote communities. Read more about Herb and how he is working to help address climate change.  
    • Nina Joffe: Nina Joffe joined WPTO as a AAAS fellow with the goal of helping humans adopt less destructive activities and coexist better with the Earth. Read why she sees policy work as the best way to make immediate, tangible change, and how she’s working to build a symbiotic relationship between communities, clean energy, and the ocean. 
Nina Joffe smiles on a beach at sunset.

UMERC Releases Analysis of U.S. Marine Energy Technological Innovation: The University Marine Energy Research Community (UMERC) has released the report Analyzing the US Marine Energy Technological Innovation System. The report, modeled on similar analyses in European energy contexts, uses the Technological Innovation System framework to provide a systematic analysis of the marine energy research and innovation ecosystem within the United States. The report contains results from UMERC’s annual survey and interviews, along with a description of the current state of the marine energy innovation ecosystem. 

Wave Energy Companies Detail Opportunities and Hurdles of Developing Technology: As the United States continues to work toward a clean energy economy, incorporating wave energy will be crucial as it has the ability to complement other renewable resources, like solar and wind energy. Read about how Ocean Motion Technologies, Oscilla Power, and CalWave are working with WPTO to make marine energy accessible and sustainable. 

Video: WPTO Helps to Remove Barriers to Testing Marine Energy Technologies: WPTO works to advance the development of reliable, cost-competitive marine energy technologies by making it faster, easier, and more cost effective for companies to take the next steps to deploy their devices. See how the TEAMER program and test sites, like the U.S. Navy’s Wave Energy Test Site and PacWave South, are all playing critical roles in advancing marine energy technologies toward commercialization. 

DOE Announces Funding for Transitioning Tribal Colleges and Universities to Clean Energy: DOE’s Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs issued a notice of intent to release a $15 million funding opportunity announcement this spring to install clean energy technology at tribal colleges and universities. Awards are anticipated to range from $100,000 to $250,000 for planning grants or from $1 million to $3 million for deployment grants. View the full notice of intent on EERE (Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy) Exchange. 

Ocean Energy Safety Institute Releases Marine Energy Research Road Map: The Ocean Energy Safety Institute published a research road map for marine energy. The marine energy road map outlines two targets: small-scale marine energy solutions that enhance the safety, security, and sustainability of offshore wind energy and oil and gas operations; and utility-scale marine energy solutions, leveraging experience from wind energy and oil and gas, that enhances the safety, security, and sustainability of marine energy operations. The road map process joins members and stakeholders in collaborative teams to identify strategic targets and pathways based on needs and gaps in the field. 

Video: WPTO Is Helping Power the Blue Economy: WPTO’s Powering the Blue Economy™ initiative is a meaningful first step toward protecting, understanding, and leveraging the immense power and promise of the ocean to help achieve collective economic, social and environmental goals. Learn more about the initiative and how WPTO is advancing marine energy technology sustainably.

In Case You Missed It

DOE Issues Intent to Fund $50 Million to Support Clean Energy Technologies on Tribal Lands: DOE issued a notice of intent to release a $50 million funding opportunity announcement this spring to support clean energy technology deployment on tribal lands. Awards are anticipated to range from $100,000 to $2.5 million or from $250,000 to $5 million, depending on the area of interest. View the full notice of intent on EERE Exchange. 

Ocean Energy Systems-Environmental Updated Management Measures Tool: In 2017 with funding from DOE, the Ocean Energy Systems-Environmental team, including Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, created the Management Measures Tool for Marine Energy. The tool compiles management or mitigation measures used in past or current marine energy projects to make such information more readily available. The marine energy community can review and use this information to aid future projects. In 2022, the team updated the tool’s user experience and added additional mitigation measures to make it more robust. The Ocean Energy Systems-Environmental team held a webinar in January 2023 to explore the tool’s new capabilities. View a recording of the webinar. 

Illustrations of renewable ocean energy devices.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Water Power Office Releases 2022 Recap: The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s water power team gathered its most popular and powerful moments of 2022, featuring huge progress toward a carbon-free electricity grid by 2035 and a net-zero-emissions economy by 2050. Dive into key advancements in marine energy and hydropower can help achieve these clean energy goals. 

Testing Collision Risk Solutions: The latest story from the Triton Initiative highlights its ongoing work to test sensors that could alleviate animal-turbine interactions with current energy converters. The Triton team is conducting proof-of-concept testing with the University of Washington as part of the Integrated Collision Detection and Mitigation project. The project will help explore possible sensors that could offer a tangible solution to alleviate collision risks. 

WPTO in Sea Technology Magazine: Reaching the United States’ climate goals of a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035 and net-zero-emissions economy by 2050 requires complementing currently available clean energy technologies with emerging technologies such as marine energy. Look back at ways WPTO supported efforts to propel marine energy technologies from the lab to the water in 2022 and look ahead to 2023.

Social Spotlight

A cresting ocean wave

WPTO on LinkedIn — Feb. 1, 2023 

#ICYMI Our Water Power Technologies Office announced an additional $10 million to advance tidal and current energy systems. Learn more about the funding opportunity.

Follow along on the EERE Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook channels for more #WaterWednesday content each week.

Making a Splash in the News

Marine Mentions