September 23, 2024 (press release) –
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Biden-Harris Administration announced today up to $112.5 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy for its largest ever investment in marine energy. This five-year investment will significantly accelerate the design, fabrication, and testing of multiple wave energy converters (WECs), which harness power from ocean waves. Wave energy, a type of marine energy, can provide local, affordable, and clean energy for U.S. electric grids, coastal and island communities, and offshore work. This investment is in line with the administration’s commitment to domestically deployed power and technologies that will make American energy reliable and independent.
“Marine energy has great potential in the United States—the total available wave energy resource in the U.S. is equivalent to approximately 34 percent of all domestic power generation,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The Department of Energy’s investment in wave energy will provide consistent, long-term funding to American developers so they can advance their technologies with the goal of providing millions of Americans with locally sourced, clean, and reliable energy.”
Energy from ocean waves is abundant and complementary to other renewable energy sources, like wind energy and solar power. Even if only a portion of this technical resource potential is captured, wave energy technologies would make significant contributions to U.S. energy needs by powering U.S. electric grids and at-sea activities, as well as rural and remote communities that often rely on expensive shipments of fossil fuels.
Administered by the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), this investment is designed to support development and testing of WECs to provide power for:
- At-sea applications, such as ocean observation, aquaculture, and marine carbon dioxide removal.
- Coastal community needs, such as power and clean drinking water production.
- Utility electricity needs. WECs with utility applications may be tested at PacWave South, the first pre-permitted, grid-connected test facility for wave energy technologies in the continental United States that is expected to be operational next year.
This investment will help identify and mature high-potential WEC technologies, reduce financial risks for developers and incentivize investors, progress technologies at smaller scales while developing toward utility scale, and increase learning for installation, operations, and maintenance.
The full funding opportunity is available in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Program Information Center. WPTO will host an informational webinar at 11 a.m. ET on October 9, 2024, to discuss the funding opportunity and areas of focus. Concept papers are due by 5 p.m. ET on October 25, 2024.
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