- Department of Energy to provide up to $27 million to support research and development of advance wave energy technologies
- These technologies work to harness the energy created when wind blows over the open water of oceans and lakes
- Research will take place at a wave energy testing facility currently under construction off Oregon
Summary by Dirk Langeveld
The Department of Energy will provide up to $27 million toward the research and development of advance wave energy technologies. The funding aims to bring these technologies, which harness the energy created when wind blows over open water of oceans and lakes, to commercial viability.
The funding will also support a broader effort to have more renewable energy options supporting the nation’s electrical grid. Renewables accounted for nearly one-fifth of electricity generation in the United States in 2020, and the Biden administration has set the goals of decarbonizing the energy sector by 2035 and reaching net-zero carbon emissions overall by 2050.
- Projects selected to receive funding will conduct research at PacWave South, a marine energy testing facility off the coast of Oregon; construction on the facility began in June and is expected to be complete in 2023
- An informational webinar on the funding opportunity will take place on July 22; concept papers are due Aug. 13, and full applications are due Oct. 5
- Interest in marine energy has increased recently, although the options lag behind solar and wind technologies in the renewable energy sector
