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Did You Know?
WPTO recently announced the winners of its second Make A Splash Photo and Video Contest. Celebrate the photographers and videographers by viewing their awe-inspiring content spotlighting not only water power research and development activities and infrastructure, but also the people who work to make hydropower and marine energy part of our clean energy future.
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FUNDING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE OPPORTUNITIES
WPTO opened an opportunity for hydropower developers, system operators, utilities, and other stakeholders to receive technical assistance on the development of hydropower hybrids and pumped storage hydropower. This technical assistance, provided by DOE national laboratories, will focus on supporting stakeholders' decision-making regarding potential projects. WPTO anticipates providing technical assistance to up to 18 projects. Each recipient will receive assistance valued between $200,000 and $1.25 million. The deadline for potential recipients to submit statements of interest is 5 p.m. ET on April 1, 2024.
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DOE's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations announced $366 million in funding for projects across the nation that will accelerate clean energy deployment in rural and remote areas. The selections include four projects that involve hydropower. These projects are located in or adjacent to disadvantaged communities that are disproportionally overburdened by pollution and historically underserved.
DOE has named 28 student finalist teams selected to earn cash prizes and compete in the EnergyTech University Prize (EnergyTech UP) including the University of Michigan's KelpNext team. Already awarded $3,000 as the WPTO Technology Bonus Prize finalist, the team will now compete alongside the other finalists at the National Pitch Event this April. After the event, up to three national winners will be selected to share an $80,000 prize. Teams will also vie for the National Lab IP Licensing prize, Undergraduate-Only Team prize, and technology-specific bonus prizes.
WPTO and the Minority-Serving Institutions STEM Research and Development Consortium announced nearly $1.2 million for five high-impact water power research projects at minority-serving colleges and universities. This funding is part of WPTO's Seedlings for Universities initiative, which aims to seed research and development activities in academic institutions that do not have significant existing water power research portfolios.
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DOE has announced the winners of the first Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Clean Energy Education Prize Partnerships Track. Each winning team will receive $100,000 to support partnerships between HBCUs and other universities, government agencies, and industry leaders to build new programs and provide professional opportunities that will equip HBCU students with the skills needed to succeed in the clean energy industry.
The National Science Foundation (NSF), on behalf of the White House National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal Fast-Track Action Committee (MCDR-FTAC), requests input to inform the development of an implementation plan regarding mCDR research. The plan will advance three actions to enable mCDR research as called for in the Ocean Climate Action Plan—form a comprehensive federal mCDR research program; clarify permitting, regulatory, and other standards and policies, and establish guidelines for mCDR research; and launch a mCDR Initiative to enable public-private partnerships and create mechanisms to strengthen interagency coordination and promote public awareness and engagement. Responses are due by April 23, 2024.
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MCDR-FTAC Listening Sessions
The NSTC MCDR-FTAC invites all interested parties to a series of listening sessions to inform the development of an implementation plan regarding MCDR research. The listening sessions will introduce MCDR-FTAC and provide an opportunity for stakeholders to provide input. The webinars will be organized around three themes and there is no limit to the number of sessions that can be attended.
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March 19, 2024, 12:30–2:30 p.m. ET: The FTAC seeks feedback on how the U.S. government can apply relevant domestic and international frameworks to regulating MCDR research, including field tests in the ocean.
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March 26, 2024, 12:30–2:30 p.m. ET: The FTAC seeks feedback on a federal research program that will accelerate the development of the knowledge needed to understand the effectiveness and safety of MCDR approaches.
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April 9, 2024, 12:30–2:30 p.m. ET: The FTAC seeks feedback on how to enable public engagement in MCDR research and how to promote cooperation between the federal government and non-federal parties on MCDR research, including field tests.
March 26, 2024, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m. ET
Join a webinar with staff from Sandia National Laboratories to learn about recent results from wave energy converter (WEC) co-design testing on the WaveBot device. The webinar will provide firsthand knowledge on WECs from leading experts in the field, explore in-depth data analysis from the WaveBot testing, and explain how co-design optimized power output. The session will conclude with a Q&A session.
March 27, 2024, 12–4 p.m. ET
WPTO is hosting a virtual workshop to inform their Resilient Coastal Communities/Community-Scale Technology strategy development. This topic covers systems providing power or water delivery for nearshore marine energy technologies for coastal and island stakeholders. The technology does not have to be grid-connected. This four-hour facilitated input session will ask attendees to help prioritize key activities for implementation over the next five years. WPTO is seeking participation from private sector representatives, with an emphasis on technology development and commercialization.
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April 2, 2024, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m. ET
Sandia National Laboratories is working with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to develop a novel WEC concept to support power needs on the Coastal Surface Mooring system within the Ocean Observatories Initiative Pioneer Array. The webinar will provide an overview of the project's scope and concept design phase and end with a Q&A session.
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HAPPENING NOW, March 8–16, 2024, Austin, TX
Don’t miss a marine energy panel featuring WPTO staff at this year’s event:
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Investing in Our Oceans: Navigating Uncharted Waters, TODAY, March 13, 2024, 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. CT: Join Beth Hartman, WPTO’s Strategic Innovation and Outreach Program Manager, and other panelists as they explore why blue tech is a critical investment area for climate mitigation and resilience, clean energy, food security, and economic prosperity
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HAPPENING NOW, March 13–15, 2024, Washington, D.C.
Members of the WPTO team, researchers from national laboratories, and other water power stakeholders are at the National Hydropower Association's Waterpower Week as the community gathers to discuss policy, legislation, regulation, and wholesale electricity market topics. Stop by the WPTO table to get more information on activities and opportunities and be sure to attend panels featuring experts from the office and national laboratories.
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March 19–20, 2024, Palm Springs, CA
Meet WPTO staff and stakeholders at CEATI's Hydropower conference. The event will focus on the opportunities and challenges utilities are facing around the world with a specific focus on retrofitting dams for extended life, extreme events, and the increased need for flexibility.
Topics will also include opportunities for power plant modernization and innovations in hydropower.
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Water Power Professionals Share Their Career Journeys
Everyone has a different journey to a career in water power. Some are born with the passion while others find their love for the sector later on. Learn how WPTO Director Jennifer Garson and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researcher Chinmayee Subban found their career passion in water:
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Jennifer Garson: WPTO is special to Jennifer Garson. For five years, she has led the office’s strategy, management, and execution of funding. Now, as she prepares for her next challenge in the clean energy sector, Garson looks back at her accomplishments, learnings, and cherished moments at DOE and WPTO. See what inspires her and why accelerating the clean energy transition is so important.
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Chinmayee Subban: Chinmayee Subban wants to help people. Whether she is assisting farmers in their use of alternative water sources, working with stakeholders to improve renewable energy-powered desalination devices, or chatting with her fellow commuters about how water stress impacts their daily lives, Subban prioritizes making the world a better, cleaner, more equitable place through her work in water power.
Looking to dive deeper into publications, reports, and other news in water power? Subscribe to WPTO's program-level newsletters, Hydro Headlines and The Water Column, which provide content focused on hydropower and marine energy, respectively.
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MAKING A SPLASH IN THE NEWS
Beneath the Surface: Alec Schnabel Has the Power (and the Power Electronics) To Advance Wave Energy
—NREL, Caitlin McDermott-Murphy, March 8, 2024
DOE Awards $1.2 Million to Support Water Power Research at Minority-Serving Institutions
—Hydro Review, Elizabeth Ingram, March 8, 2024
Study: Marine Carbon Removal, and the Offshore Wind and Wave Energy to Power It
—Energy Post via NREL, Caitlin McDermott-Murphy, March 6, 2024
U.S. DOE Opens Technical Assistance Opportunity for Hydropower Hybrids and Pumped Storage
—Hydro Review, Elizabeth Ingram, March 4, 2024
A Federal Research Initiative to Facilitate Marine Energy Projects Wraps its Operations in Big Sur
—Monterey County Weekly, David Schmalz, Feb. 29, 2024
Biden Administration Taps $366M to Fund Clean Energy for Native American Tribes and Rural Areas
—The Associated Press, Sophie Austin, Feb. 27, 2024
DOE Awarding $15.5M to Marine Energy Projects
—Green Car Congress, staff writer, Feb. 26, 2024
Including Hydro Reservoir Operations in Hydrological Models Improves Freshwater Projections
—Hydro Review, Elizabeth Ingram, Feb. 26, 2024
What Can Taylor Swift Fix Next: SX Speaker Series
—South by Southwest, Hugh Forrest, Feb. 22, 2024
ORNL Scientists Develop Method for Understanding GHG Emissions from Hydropower Reservoirs
—Hydro Review, Elizabeth Ingram, Feb. 19, 2024
DOE WPTO Releases Strategy on Advanced Manufacturing and Materials for Hydropower
—Hydro Review, Elizabeth Ingram, Feb. 16, 2024
US DOE Provides $72MM to Boost Efficiency of Hydropower Facilities
—Rig Zone, Jov Onsat, Feb. 8, 2024
DOE Invests $15.5M Into Cutting-Edge Marine Energy Projects
—Innovation News Network, staff writer, Feb. 7, 2024
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