Energy Department investing $16 million in ocean energy research projects

The US Energy Department announced on Thursday seventeen new projects, for $16 million total investment, to capture energy from waves, tides and currents. The goal is to increase America’s renewable energy portfolio, increase the power production and reliability of wave and tidal devices, and help gather valuable data on how deployed devices interact with the surrounding environment.

“Wave and tidal energy represent a large, untapped resource for the United States, and responsible development of this clean, renewable energy source is an important part of our all-of-the-above energy strategy,” said Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy David Danielson.

Tidal and wave energy is a clean, renewable resource that can be harnessed wherever changing tides, waves, or currents move a significant volume of water. Many location along the coasts are potential energy resources, with the right equipment.

The DOE estimates there is up to 1,400 terawatt-hours of generating capacity per year from all of America’s tidal and wave energy resources. Developing just a small fraction of that resource would be enough to supply clean renewable electricity to millions of homes.

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The projects break down as follows:

  • Eight projects, $13.5 million, cover building durable, efficient wave and tidal devices that reduce overall costs and maximize the amount of energy captured.
  • Nine projects, $2.4 million, cover gathering and analyzing environmental data from wave and tidal projects as well as potential development areas.

The projects are described as being part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above strategy to develop every American energy resource.

Source: Department of Energy

About David Herron

David Herron is a writer and software engineer living in Silicon Valley. He primarily writes about electric vehicles, clean energy systems, climate change, peak oil and related issues. When not writing he indulges in software projects and is sometimes employed as a software engineer. David has written for sites like PlugInCars and TorqueNews, and worked for companies like Sun Microsystems and Yahoo.

About David Herron

David Herron is a writer and software engineer living in Silicon Valley. He primarily writes about electric vehicles, clean energy systems, climate change, peak oil and related issues. When not writing he indulges in software projects and is sometimes employed as a software engineer. David has written for sites like PlugInCars and TorqueNews, and worked for companies like Sun Microsystems and Yahoo.

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