Menezes announces $23 million to support advanced marine energy technologies

U.S. Undersecretary of Energy Mark Menezes announced Monday up to $23 million to support research and development of marine energy devices.

“Marine energy is the newest frontier where we can unleash American innovation to produce more energy more affordably,” Menezes said at the National Hydropower Association’s Waterpower Week event in Washington, D.C. “Investing in early-stage research and development is critical to our America First energy and economic strategy to provide millions of Americans with domestic, clean, and reliable energy.”

The funding opportunity includes three topic areas: early-stage device design research of next-generation wave and tidal/current systems; controls and power take off (PTO) design integration and testing; and dissemination of environmental data and analyses to improve understanding of potential environmental impacts from marine renewable energy development and facilitate the marine energy regulatory process.

Funding comes from the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).

“Reducing costs, accelerating technology development, and decreasing testing and development timelines of marine energy technologies can help realize the nation’s potential for future growth in marine energy resource extraction,” DOE said in a news release. “DOE is committed to investing in early-stage R&D that enables the domestic marine energy industry to advance toward becoming more cost competitive while also helping to promote economic prosperity and energy security.”