U.S. Energy Department Announces $25 Million to Advance Wave Energy Technologies

The U.S. Energy Department on Jan. 25 announced $25 million funding to aid research and expansion of technologies to generate electricity from wave power. The program will assist eight projects in conducting open-water tests at the PacWave South test site. This funding aims to enhance the commercial feasibility and implementation of wave energy technologies as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Waves, formed during the blowing of the wind over the surface of the water, can be converted into emission-free electricity using wave energy converters. However, open water testing comes with challenges, including permitting issues and inadequate test sites. PacWave South, the nation’s first qualified open-water wave energy test center. The agency built the facility in 2016 in collaboration with Oregon State University.

Portland State University and Oregon State University will play a central role in leveraging this energy source to its full potential. The nominated projects are part of the Water Power Technologies Office grant opportunity to assist wave energy science through research, development, and implementation.

The selected projects emphasize on:

– Examining wave energy converter blueprints for far-off areas or on minor local grids.

• CalWave Power Technologies Inc. (Oakland) (Grant amount: $7,500,000)
• Columbia Power Technologies Inc. (Charlottesville) (Grant amount: $4,182,275)

– Advancing wave energy converter blueprint that can be linked or delinked from the grid.

• Dehlsen Associates, LLC (Santa Barbara) (Grant amount: $1,800,000)
• Oscilla Power Inc. (Seattle) (Grant amount: $1,800,000)

– R&D at PacWave for environmental monitoring and observation technologies, and instrumentation set up to regulate wave energy converters.

• Integral Consulting (Seattle) (Grant amount: $379,329)
• Littoral Power Systems, Inc. (New Bedford) (Grant amount: $3,976,401)
• Portland State University (Portland) (Grant amount: $4,507,330)
• University of Washington (Seattle) (Grant amount: $1,299,689)