On March 21, 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a Notice of Intent to issue a funding opportunity titled “Marine and Hydrokinetic (MHK) Research and Development University Consortium.” The goal of this funding opportunity is to leverage existing in-situ R&D expertise to advance U.S. MHK technology, while developing intellectual capital for a globally-competitive workforce. 

The DOE recognizes the significant capital expenditures required to adequately address the challenges of operating in an energetic marine environment. Through a balanced portfolio approach, the Water Power Program makes strategic investments in the MHK subprogram while compressing technology development timelines of MHK devices in order to reduce the 2011 Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE).

This funding opportunity will address strategic opportunities in the Department’s MHK technology development portfolio that have a significant potential to advance the mission of the Program. While all high-impact applications will be considered, a university consortium must demonstrate capabilities and expertise in R&D to fill strategic opportunities within the Program’s portfolio including:

• Logistics development for operations and maintenance (O&M) of devices and arrays in energetic marine environments.
• Development and validation of efficient high-fidelity resource characterization and/or modeling techniques.
• Development and techno-economic studies of devices for distributed applications.
• Component technology development necessary for enabling arrays: e.g. moorings and foundations, transmission, and other offshore grid components.
• Array performance testing and evaluation.
• In-water testing and evaluation of new, cost-effective environmental monitoring techniques and instrumentation in energetic marine environments.   

Read the full Notice of Intent on the Department of Energy’s Funding Opportunity Exchange.

To learn about funding opportunities available through the Water Power Program, please visit the Financial Opportunities Web page. To receive timely news updates, please subscribe to the Water Power Program’s Breaking News Updates.