Apply for the 2024 Marine Energy Graduate Student Research Program

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Water Power Technologies Office

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

Oct. 18, 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 the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) at WaterPowerTechnologiesOffice@ee.doe.gov with any inquiries or suggestions.
Icon of marine energy.

Did You Know?

WPTO Director Jennifer Garson played a key role in establishing DOE’s prize program, known as the American-Made program. Learn more about how she helped to shape and inspire the clean energy transition in this four-article series.

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 on Nov. 8, 2023.

Announcements

WPTO Opens Applications for the 2024 Marine Energy Graduate Student Research Program: WPTO and the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education opened applications for the 2024 MEGSRP. The program supports graduate students working on marine energy-focused research theses or dissertations by providing access to expertise, resources, and capabilities available at DOE offices, national laboratories, government and industry partners, and other approved facilities. WPTO will host an informational webinar for interested applicants from 2–3 p.m. ET on Oct. 24, 2023. Applications are due Dec. 1, 2023.

DOE and the U.S. Department of the Interior Release $16.4 Million Funding Opportunity to Support Offshore Renewable Energy: WPTO and DOE’s Wind Energy Technologies Office, along with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, opened a $16.4 million funding opportunity to support accelerated and responsible development of offshore renewable energy. One of the topic areas focuses on improving the integrity and monitoring of mooring lines for floating offshore wind energy systems and marine energy converters. Concept papers are due by 5 p.m. ET on Nov. 9, 2023.

A fish in a net

WPTO Announces Nearly $6.8 Million for Six Small Business-Led Marine Energy Projects: As part of Phase II of the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer program, WPTO selected six projects which can drive innovation in marine energy and help achieve the country’ clean energy goals. The projects were selected under three topics focused on the co-development of marine energy technologies with end-user partners, technology solutions for advancing ocean coexistence and co-use with marine energy and communities, and co-development of marine energy technology at smaller scales.

TEAMER Announces Latest Technical Support Recipients: TEAMER selected 10 projects through its 10th request for technical support, totaling more than $1 million in technical support. These projects will receive support for testing expertise and access to numerical modeling, laboratory or bench testing, tank/flume testing, and other capabilities within the TEAMER network. The deadline to apply for Request for Technical Support 11 is Nov. 3, 2023.

WPTO Publishes Notice of Intent to Issue a $14.5 Million Funding Opportunity for Marine Energy Research at College and Universities: WPTO published a notice of intent to issue a $14.5 million funding opportunity to support marine energy research at U.S. institutions of higher education, including minority-serving institutions. WPTO expect to issue this funding opportunity in early 2024 with topics focused on generating publicly available (open-source) data on cost reductions and performance improvements of marine energy devices, assessing and advancing potential synergies between floating offshore wind and/or marine energy and aquaculture development, and supporting undergraduate senior design and/or research projects in marine energy, along with an open topic.

Ocean Energy Safety Institute Announces Funding for Research Projects to Improve Safety of Marine Energy Operations: The Ocean Energy Safety Institute, funded by DOE, announced nearly $1.1 million in funding for four proposals for research to improve the safety and environmental sustainability of marine energy development. The projects focus on using small-scale marine energy systems to enhance the safety, security, and sustainability of oil and gas operations; identifying recommended minimum system and personnel safety considerations for the design of marine energy technology; and assessing best practices from offshore oil and gas to enhance utility-scale marine energy generation systems.

Project Updates and Stories

New Ocean Simulator Allows for Low-Risk Energy Device Testing: When offshore energy devices head out into vigorous ocean waves, plenty can go wrong. Using a new capability at DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), technology developers can now prepare their prototypes for the rigors of the ocean in a safe, low-risk environment. NREL’s new large-amplitude motion platform can use real wave data to emulate actual sea conditions. The motion platform expands NREL’s existing offshore energy device testing capabilities by allowing larger prototypes to be simulated in a dry environment.

Sandia National Laboratories Develops a Method to Help Wave Energy Converters Adapt Their Power to Account for Different Wave Conditions: Placing a wave energy converter in the ocean comes with a lot of risk and uncertainty. To help alleviate some of this uncertainty, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories recently developed a controller that maximizes electrical power generation and power absorption. The controller will provide more accurate performance estimations for wave energy converters while improving power output and decreasing costs.

The Triton Initiative Is Taking Marine Energy Research to New Heights: The Triton Initiative’s Marine Wildlife Detection and Tracking project team partnered with Sandia National Laboratories and the University of Houston-Clear Lake to test a tethered balloon system for aerial marine wildlife monitoring applications around marine energy devices. The team traveled to La Porte, Texas, to validate a tethered balloon system equipped with a variety of thermal, optical, and multispectral sensors for marine mammal tracking and detection in coastal and offshore habitats.

PRIMRE Launches New Version of Marine Energy Database: Telesto, which is home to open-source wiki pages and structured databases that provide information about the development life cycle of marine energy, recently received an update from the Portal And Repository for Information on Marine Renewable Energy (PRIMRE) team. The team worked to keep Telesto as comprehensive as possible by updating information about marine energy performance metrics, economics, standards, compliance, and lessons learned from lab and field testing.

Research Publications

NREL Conducts Study on Anchoring and Mooring System Design Possibilities for PacWave: NREL researchers conducted a study for how to best accommodate the variety of wave energy converters at the PacWave test facility. The study found that while a one-size-fits-all mooring system is not feasible, designing general mooring system components that can support a wide range of wave energy converters while still meeting the design criteria may be the most effective approach.

Events

MEGSRP Informational Webinar
Oct. 24, 2023, 2–3 p.m. ET, Virtual

MEGSRP supports graduate students working on marine energy-focused research theses or dissertations while working with a host facility of their choosing. The program is open to full-time master’s students or Ph.D. candidates of all majors and disciplines. Join the webinar on Oct. 24, 2023, to learn about the program, the financial benefits, and how applicants can identify a host facility.

WPTO R&D Deep Dive: Spatial Environmental Assessment Tool – Connecting Marine Energy and the Environment
Nov. 9, 2023, 1–2 p.m. ET

The Spatial Environmental Assessment Toolkit connects results from marine energy-adapted numerical environmental data to assess and communicate the risk of changes induced by marine energy converters. Learn about the modeling tools to assess site- and technology-specific factors in the deployment of marine energy arrays.

WPTO Semiannual Stakeholder Webinar
Nov. 13, 2023, 1:30–3 p.m. ET

Join staff and leadership from WPTO to hear about how the office is working with partners across the country and beyond to achieve office, department, and administration goals for a clean energy future through water power projects. Dive into current and future funding opportunities and hear about other accomplishments, news, and updates since the last stakeholder webinar in April.  

In Case You Missed It

WPTO Wants You to Make a Splash with Your Video and Photography Skills: WPTO’s Make a Splash Photo and Video Contest highlights the significance of water power technologies, including marine energy, in the nation’s clean energy transition. This contest aims to visually show real-world water power technologies as well as the people contributing to and benefitting from them. Photographers and videographers of all skill levels—from professionals to everyday cellphone camera users—can submit their work across various categories for a chance to win cash prizes of up to $2,000. The deadline for submissions is Nov. 17, 2023.

The Future of the Clean Energy Workforce: To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy spotlighted three students who are preparing for a career in clean energy. Emigdio Islas, a recent graduate from California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo was part of the second-place team in the 2023 Marine Energy Collegiate Competition. Hear from Emigdio as he shares how the competition helped him get started in his career.

WPTO Selects Nearly $10 Million in Projects to Advance Marine Energy: WPTO selected seven innovative projects, totaling nearly $10 million, that will accelerate the development and testing of marine energy technologies. These investments advance research on wave-powered technology for use in seawater desalination and support a feasibility study for a potential ocean current test facility.

New Renewable Energy Discovery Island Offers Virtual Tour of Water Power’s Potential: Developed by the NREL with funding from WPTO, the new Renewable Energy Discovery Island gives educators, parents, and the public a virtual glimpse into marine energy and hydropower technologies. The island is home to a number of marine energy waystation animations, such as Surge Flap Sands and Tidal Town, that effectively demonstrate the myriad ways marine energy can be used.

Social Spotlight

WPTO on LinkedIn: Oct. 9, 2023

A floating marine energy device

Are you working on a project that helps minimize the impact of offshore wind and water power infrastructure? The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has offered $16.4 million in total funding to support projects that improve mooring line reliability for U.S. deployments of floating offshore wind and marine energy systems, and decrease the noise generated by fixed-bottom offshore wind energy installations.

Learn more and submit concept papers by November 9

Follow along on the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook channels for more water power content each week.

Making a Splash in the News