US invests $37 million in marine and hydrokinetic energy

Ocean Power Technologies' PowerBuoy device

Late last week, US Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced a $37 million investment in marine and hydrokinetic energy technologies.

The 27 funded projects aim to accelerate the development and commercialisation of renewable energy technologies able to generate electricity from oceans, rivers and streams.

The projects are being led by industry, universities, national laboratories, and other groups and range from concept studies to prototype device development and in-water testing.

Ocean Power Technologies, for example, is receiving $2.4 million to deploy a full-scale prototype if its 150 kW PowerBuoy system in Oregon. The company is matching the grant with other funds. The company will also receive a further $2.4 million to create a design for its 500 kW PB500 PowerBuiy wave energy device.

A $10 million grant, meanwhile, is going towards Ocean Renewable Power’s $21.1 million project to build, install, operate and monitor a commercial-scale array of five grid-connected TidGen™ devices off the coast of Maine. The three-year project will create a full-scale, grid-connected tidal energy system operating in depths of 150 ft.

Another full-scale, grid-connected tidal turbine system will be tested in Puget Sound off the Washington coast. This $20.1 million project, which will receive $10 million from the Department of Energy, will test two 10 m Open-Centre Turbines developed and manufactured by OpenHydro Group. The turbines can generate 1 MW of electricity at peak tidal currents and average outputs of 100 kW.

“This funding represents the largest single investment of federal funding to date in the development of marine and hydrokinetic energy technologies,” commented Energy Secretary Chu.

For further information:
www.energy.gov
www.eere.energy.gov/pdfs/project_selections_mhk_release.pdf
www.oceanpowertechnologies.com
www.oceanrenewablepower.com/
www.openhydro.com/

13 September 2010

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