US DOE Issues a $14.5 million call for marine energy research

The U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Energy Technologies have announced a $14.5 million funding opportunity for basic research on marine renewable energies.

A $14.5 million funding opportunity has been made available by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) and Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) to promote basic research on marine renewable energies at higher education institutions. The call is part of an attempt to address issues facing the marine and ocean renewable energy industries and promote innovation and development. It is directed at domestic higher education institutions, including minority-serving schools.

In order to expand the use of renewable energy sources, the opportunity will finance basic research and development (R&D) projects that enhance offshore wind and marine energy technology. Up to $5 million is allocated in the first topic area for initiatives that produce test platforms and publicly available data that will point the way toward cost savings and performance improvements for the development of marine energy devices.

In an effort to promote possible synergies between offshore wind and/or marine energy and aquaculture development, WPTO and WETO have set aside up to $1.5 million for projects. For the last topic, which has been designated as an "open topic area" with up to $6 million in reserved money, applicants are welcome to suggest projects that tackle the needs of the maritime energy sector not addressed by previous topic areas.