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Did You Know?
June is National Ocean Month! To recognize the ocean’s tremendous potential, WPTO revisited several of its Ripple Effect profiles focused on protecting and harnessing the power of the ocean.
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June 21, 2024, is the deadline to submit a request to use Kestrel, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL’s) third-generation supercomputer, in Fiscal Year 2025.
June 28, 2024, is the deadline to provide feedback on the draft Ocean Energy Systems (OES)-Environmental 2024 State of the Science Report: Environmental Effects of Marine Renewable Energy Development Around the World.
June 28, 2024, is the deadline to apply to the Testing Expertise and Access for Marine Energy Research (TEAMER) program’s Request for Technical Support 13.
June 30, 2024 is the deadline to express interest in serving as a mentor for the 2025 Hydropower or Marine Energy Collegiate Competition.
July 9, 2024, at 3 p.m. ET is the deadline to apply to the EERE Voucher Program.
July 10, 2024 is the deadline for communities to apply for technical assistance through the Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project (ETIPP).
July 26, 2024 is the deadline for submissions to the first phase of the Powering the Blue Economy™: Power at Sea Prize.
Concept abstracts are being accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis for the technical collaboration opportunity focused on developing innovative hydropower technologies using advanced materials and manufacturing.
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FUNDING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE OPPORTUNITIES
OES-Environmental released a draft of its 2024 State of the Science Report: Environmental Effects of Marine Renewable Energy Development Around the World for public comment. The draft serves as an update to the 2020 State of the Science Report and features several new sections that include topics like resources to advance marine renewable energy and moving beyond stressor-receptor interactions. Feedback on the draft report will be accepted via a feedback form through June 28, 2024.
Applications are now open for ETIPP, which provides technical assistance to remote and island communities to enhance their energy resilience. New this year, communities selected for technical assistance will also receive direct funding to support their time and engagement on the ETIPP project. The 2024 ETIPP application period closes on July 10, 2024.
WPTO is accepting submissions for the Powering the Blue Economy: Power at Sea Prize, which will award up to $1.7 million to competitors to advance marine energy technologies for offshore applications such as ocean-observing devices and aquaculture installations. Competitors are challenged to develop innovative concepts that address integration challenges specific to the blue economy. The first phase of the competition is open for submissions through July 26, 2024.
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WPTO and Oak Ridge National Laboratory opened a technical collaboration opportunity for industry partners interested in developing innovative hydropower technologies using advanced materials and manufacturing. This opportunity, which leverages the lab’s existing technical collaboration program, will provide selected participants with access to DOE's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility. It will allow companies to validate and refine untested ideas and experiment with novel approaches to enhance the performance and sustainability of hydropower technologies without committing extensive resources. Interested applicants must submit a brief concept abstract (template provided), and proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis until funds are expended.
The University of New Hampshire was the overall winner at the 2024 Marine Energy Collegiate Competition. Purdue University took second place, and Oakland University and Oregon State University tied for third. The competition, funded by WPTO and administered by NREL, challenges multidisciplinary collegiate teams to develop solutions that can help power sectors in the blue economy, like aquaculture or ocean observation. Students gain hands-on experience by identifying markets for marine energy technologies and designing their own device.
WPTO announced the 36 teams selected to participate in the 2025 Hydropower Collegiate Competition (HCC) and MECC, the largest cohort of teams to date. These competitions engage students in real-world challenges facing these sectors and expose them to the many career opportunities in water power. New this year, teams will be assigned industry mentors to help students foster working relationships with industry experts who can provide real-world experience, technical expertise, career advice, and other insights into how to navigate the industry. Mentors can expect to contribute approximately 15 hours of their time over the course of the competition. Competition activities will begin in August 2024 and conclude by the end of May 2025. Interested in serving as a mentor? Please complete this interest form by June 30, 2024.
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July 24, 2024, 2–3 p.m. ET, Virtual
Join researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to learn about a suite of novel acoustic transmitters and sensors that have recently been commercialized or are in rapid development. Such technologies will allow researchers to track the movements and life stages of fish species that have never been studied so they can understand fish migration, habitat use, fishway use and performance, and survival rates at hydropower facilities. Hear how these cutting-edge techniques support more informed management decisions regarding new and existing hydroelectric facilities and how they contribute to the design of mitigation strategies to avoid or minimize environmental impacts to aquatic resources.
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July 31, 2024, 2–4 p.m. ET, Virtual
WPTO will host the second of three Hydropower Environmental and Industry R&D Summit talks. This talk is focused on river connectivity and hydropower operations. Practitioners and researchers will clarify the challenge space and share how the state of the science is addressing the hydropower industry’s challenges.
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July 15–18, 2024, Denver, Colorado
Join WPTO and national laboratory staff at Hydrovision International 2024 in Denver, Colorado. The event will bring together more than 1,200 hydropower stakeholders to discuss the state of the industry, trends, and solutions to current challenges. Visit WPTO at booth 521 to learn about the office, funding and other opportunities, and current R&D efforts.
NREL launched the Hydropower Knowledge Sharing and Succession Planning Toolkit, a resource to help hydropower organizations smoothly transition knowledge to new workers. This toolkit equips hydropower organizations with tools and resources to evaluate the risk of knowledge loss, initiate succession planning strategies, and foster a culture of knowledge sharing. The toolkit was created to address the needs of the evolving hydropower workforce.
Learn About Hydropower and Marine Energy Successes Featured in WPTO's 2022–2023 Accomplishments Report
The report showcases more than 40 hydropower and marine energy successes from WPTO-funded projects at DOE national laboratories, companies, and academic institutions across the country.
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Advancing Hydropower Technologies: Through WPTO's Hydropower Program, researchers examined how advanced manufacturing and materials could benefit the sector, studied how hydropower's value is expected to increase in the transition to a clean energy grid, adapted an open-source software solution to support facility cybersecurity, and engaged the next generation of the hydropower workforce.
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Harnessing Marine Energy Resources: Through WPTO's Marine Energy Program, researchers deployed devices in a stream in Maine and off the coast of Massachusetts, advanced critical testing infrastructure at several national laboratories, and used cutting-edge systems to help developers collect data on their marine energy device prototypes.
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
How Two Rookie Engineers Expertly Designed a Tidal Energy Turbine
—NREL, Connor O’Neil, June 5, 2024
Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at ORNL Hosts First Innovation Days
—EurekAlert via Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Jennifer Burke, June 3, 2024
Charlotte's Marine Energy Collegiate Competition Team Attends Their First Competition May 20-23
—Niner Times, Eve Goldman, June 2, 2024
Director of NREL's Alaska Campus Ice Breaker: Q&A With Director of NREL's Alaska Campus
—Clean Technica, Staff Writer, June 2, 2024
Teams Selected for 2025 Hydropower and Marine Energy Collegiate Competitions,
—Hydro Review, Elizabeth Ingram, May 31, 2024
DOE Announces Winners of 2024 Marine Energy Collegiate Competition
—Hydro Review, Elizabeth Ingram, May 28, 2024
Co-Designing the Future of Wave Energy: Sandia Researcher Presents at NCROEP
—Sandia National Laboratories, Spring Booth, May 22, 2024
New Toolkit Released To Aid Hydropower Industry in Workforce Transitions
—International Water Power and Dam Construction, Staff Writer, May 22, 2024
Utility Serving San Juan Islands Proposes To Harness Tidal Power
—News From The States, Toby Cooper, May 21, 2024
NAU Engineering Students Take First Place in National Hydropower Competition
—The NAU Review, Heidi Toth and Jessica Clark, May 20, 2024
US Selects 11 Marine Energy Projects for R&D Funding
—Power Engineering International, Elizabeth Ingram, May 20, 2024
Entrekin Elected President of the Society for Freshwater Science
—Society for Freshwater Science, Staff Writer, May 15, 2024
With Rivers Across the West Running Low, Utilities Get Creative
—Canada's National Observer, Syris Valentine, May 15, 2024
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