The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) has allocated more than $33 million to advance hydropower and marine energy research and development . This funding will support a total of 38 projects, distributed across technical assistance initiatives and collaborative research projects with six national laboratories.
The 13 technical assistance projects will receive more than $8.6 million through the HydroWIRES initiative, with the goal of exploring opportunities for hybrid and pumped storage (PSH) technologies. This type of energy is essential to balance electric grids that incorporate more variable renewable energy, such as solar and wind.
In parallel, nearly $25 million will be allocated to 25 research and development projects at U.S. national laboratories, including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and Sandia Laboratories. The projects include advances in marine energy conversion technologies, such as devices that capture energy from waves and ocean currents, and seek to reduce deployment costs and improve efficiency in marine environments.
The potential of hydroelectric energy
A highlight of the funding is a push for marine energy technologies , which WPTO says could meet 57% of U.S. energy needs if properly exploited. New initiatives include improvements in wave energy converter models and advanced metering systems, essential to strengthening the resilience of power grids in coastal and remote communities.
This funding also supports six Sapling projects, which began as innovative ideas with small grants, and will now receive an additional $200,000 to $400,000 to advance the development of new technologies.
The importance of these projects lies in their ability to modernize the US energy infrastructure , making it more reliable and sustainable, while at the same time fostering new opportunities for the development of the blue economy.
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Source: Hydraulic Power Technology Office
Photo: Shutterstock
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