- Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
- U.S. Department of Energy Announces $35 Million in Funding to Advance Tidal and River Current Energy Systems
Funding Opportunity Is the Largest Investment in Tidal and River Current Energy Technologies in the United States
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $35 million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to advance tidal and river current energy systems. The notice of intent proposes a funding opportunity, expected to be released in early 2023, to develop a tidal or river current research, development, and demonstration site and to support in-water demonstration of at least one tidal energy system.
Marine energy technologies, including tidal and river current technologies, transform the energy in the natural flow of oceans and rivers into clean electricity. Tidal energy systems harness power from the movement of water created by the moon’s gravitational force, while river current energy systems capture power from the directional flow of water in a river. Tidal and river current resources in the United States are equivalent to 7.8% of all U.S. power generation in 2019. Even if only a portion of these resources are captured, they could provide local, affordable, and clean power to rural and remote island communities and help achieve the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of a net-zero-emissions economy by 2050.
“Our oceans and rivers represent a huge potential source of renewable energy,” said Alejandro Moreno, Acting Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. “Building on recent commercial advances in the United States and abroad, funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law can help the United States become a leader in this industry and make significant progress toward harnessing a key source of clean power.”
The U.S. tidal and river current energy industry requires long-term and substantial funding to move from testing devices one at a time to establishing a commercial site. The complexity of installing devices and navigating permitting processes, combined with a lack of connection to local power grids, have proven to be a consistent barrier to advancing tidal and river current energy.
This proposed funding opportunity aims to support state clean energy plans and goals, advance tidal and river current energy research and development, and attract competitive tidal and river current energy developers to deploy their devices at a demonstration site. The opportunity also seeks to build the infrastructure and supply chains needed to support the U.S. tidal and river current energy industry in cooperation with stakeholders, including local agencies, tribes, and universities, and establish a working business model covering site development to commercial scale.
The full notice of intent is available on EERE Exchange.
Stay in the know with DOE’s Water Power Technologies Office! Learn about the latest marine energy funding opportunities, events, and news by subscribing to the monthly Water Column and the bimonthly Water Wire newsletters.
