Funding to reduce barriers to marine, hydrokinetic energy

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced a competitive funding opportunity designed to support the growing marine hydrokinetic energy industry.  $1.9 million is available for projects that will improve the collection and analysis of environmental monitoring and experimental data from marine hydrokinetic devices. 

Looking east from Griffith Head, Reid State Park, Maine.  Damariscove Island, a proposed offshore wind site, sits on the right horizon.

Marine hydrokinetic energy technologies capture the energy embodied in moving ocean water such as tides, currents, and waves.  While the marine hydrokinetic industry is relatively young, at least one project has been licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and built off the Maine coast.  Research and development efforts are ongoing regarding a variety of marine hydrokinetic technologies and devices, and their environmental impacts continue to be studied.

The recently-announced federal funding aims to support that environmental evaluation.  Working with the National Oceanographic Partnership Program, the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Wind and Water Power Technologies Office has issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement entitled “Marine and Hydrokinetic (MHK) Environmental Effects Assessment and Monitoring.”

Under that Funding Opportunity Announcement, the Department of Energy offers $1.9 million in funding to be split by up to 11 recipients.  Specific project areas include studies of fish behavior and mortality around hydrokinetic turbines, improved environmental monitoring of marine hydrokinetic projects, and predictive modeling of marine hydrokinetic projects' environmental impacts based on surrogate technologies with stressors and receptors similar to those expected from marine hydrokinetic technologies.

Under the competitive solicitation, the Department of Energy requested Letters of Intent to be submitted by 11:59 Eastern Time on April 18, 2013. Full applications, which must include specified documents, must be submitted by 5:00 PM ET on May 16, 2013.  For more information, visit the Department of Energy's official Funding Opportunity Announcement website or contact Todd Griset at Preti Flaherty.

Deadline for offshore wind grants

Today marks the deadline for applicants to submit letters of intent to the U.S. Department of Energy seeking funding for offshore wind energy development.  On March 1, 2012, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced a six-year $180 million initiative to deploy offshore wind projects in U.S. waters.  Subject to congressional appropriations, this program includes $20 million available this year to support up to four innovative offshore wind energy installations across the United States.

The U.S. Department of Energy believes that the U.S. is rich in offshore wind resources.  Some reports have identified over 4,000 gigawatts of potential capacity, which adds up to several percent of the U.S.'s existing electric generation capacity across all fuels and resources.

To speed the development of this resource, DOE has proposed a competitive solicitation for grant funding for "Advanced Technology Demonstration Projects".  The goal is to install innovative offshore wind systems in U.S. waters in the most rapid and responsible manner possible, and expedite the development and deployment of innovative offshore wind energy systems with a credible potential for lowering the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) below 10 ¢/kWh or the local "hurdle" price at which offshore wind can compete with other regional generation sources without subsidies.

Applications must include certain materials as specified in the Funding Opportunity Announcement (docketed as DE-FOA-0000410).  The Department has stated that it expects applications to come from world-class multi-sector consortia, including energy project developers, equipment suppliers, research institutions and marine installation specialists.  Grant funds may be used to cover up to 80 percent of a project’s design costs and 50 percent of the hardware and installation costs. Letters of intent are due on March 30 and applications are due on May 31, 2012.