Waves & Tides Star As DOE Rekindles Marine Hydrokinetic Energy Program, Targeting Commercialization
We are happy to report waves and tides have returned to the US renewable energy research and development boards by targeting hydrokinetic energy development.
Though the marketplace has steered away from wave, tidal, and current energies, UtilityDIVE reports the Department of Energy has renewed its effort to develop a viable commercial market for this abundant source of renewable energy.
According to the National Hydropower Association, the energy landscape is potentially huge:
“Wave and tidal power technologies represent a huge opportunity to create reliable, clean energy. While these technologies are currently in various stages of research, development and deployment, industry estimates have pegged US wave potential at 90 GW. In Florida alone, an estimated 4 to 10 GW of potential is thought possible, according to a University of Florida study.”
DOE Water Power Program
By accelerating the development of markets for hydropower and marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) projects, the Water Power Program states it targets the development of the next generation of water power tools and technologies, while jump-starting the private sector innovation critical to the country’s long-term economic growth, energy security, and international competitiveness.
The challenge? Developing technological and market-driven solutions which are deemed fundamental in lowering deployment barriers using the nation’s abundant water resources.
“The Water Power Program’s marine and hydrokinetic research and development efforts focus on advancing technologies that capture energy from the nation’s oceans and rivers. Unlike hydropower, marine and hydrokinetics represent an emerging industry with hundreds of potentially viable technologies. The program is therefore leading efforts to prove functionality; evaluate technical and economic viability; and generate cost, performance, and reliability data for a variety of devices.
“Marine and hydrokinetic energy technologies convert the energy of waves, tides, and river and ocean currents into electricity. The Department of Energy’s “Marine and Hydrokinetic 101” video explains how these technologies work and highlights some of the Water Power Program’s efforts in R&D in this area.”
These marine hydrokinetic (MHK) energies could potentially provide power for more than half of the U.S. population that lives along the coast, but they have one big barrier: No one’s come close to developing a cost-effective model for MHK deployment in the US.
Proving hydrokinetic’s business viability
“Utilities and major investors were brought in on this technology some years ago with big promises from vendors but the vendors did not deliver,” said Stewart Bible, team leader at Harvest Wave Energy, an MHK startup. “The utilities and investors remain snake-bitten.”
From 2008 to 2015, DOE programs awarded an estimated $136 million for 92 MHK energy projects, according to the Department’s recent project update. Unfortunately, there are no US commercial installations and few pilots with real promise.
Mr. Bible’s company is one of nine finalists in the DOE’s Wave Energy Prize competition. The goal of this competition is to identify companies which can design, build, and test MHK technologies which can be scaled up for commercial deployment. A $1.5 million first prize will be awarded to the winning technology.
Immense potential
“If only 5% of the potential is recovered, millions of homes could be powered by wave energy,” DOE’s spokesperson pointed out. A TWh of electricity is considered enough to power about 92,000 homes.
“There is an additional technically recoverable 222 TWh/year to 334 TWh/year from U.S tidal energy sites and 45 TWh/year to 163 TWh/year in ocean current sites along both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, according to a DOE study. The Mississippi River contains almost half the potential U.S. river current energy of up to 120 TWh/year. There is also an estimated 576 TWh/year of recoverable ocean thermal energy in U.S. waters.”
Global MHK energy installed capacity at the end of 2014 totaled approximately 530 MW, mostly from tidal energy installations, according to REN 21’s Renewables 2015 Global Status Report.
To date, the US has funded projects in 24 states, with over 30% of that going to Maine, Oregon, and Hawaii. But over 85% of the funding for the 92 projects DOE has supported has gone to Technology Development and Market Acceleration. Projects aimed at Deployment received only 11% of the funding.
Congress and the White House have been supportive of funding requests for MHK energy research, development, and demonstration, DOE’s spokesperson said. Provisions in the Obama administration 2017 budget, and in Senate and House energy bills, are now working their way through the legislative process.
The 20 states that count MHK energy toward their renewables mandates are important, DOE’s spokesperson said. There is also a $0.01/kWh federal Production Tax Credit for projects of at least 150 kW in nameplate capacity and a 10% Business Energy Investment Tax Credit for tidal energy projects. Some states, including Alaska and Oregon, offer added incentives.
According to the DOE, its “Water Power Program is committed to developing and deploying a portfolio of innovative technologies for clean, domestic power generation from resources such as hydropower, waves, and tides.”
We wish this rekindled waves and tides program a bright future.
Read the UtilityDIVE report on the Wave Prize finalists.
Image via DOE
Maps via DOE MHK energy resource assessment
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