DOE to Invest up to $12 Million to Support Development of Advanced Water Power Technologies

Apr 14, 2009 9:38 AM

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced the issuance of a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for up to $12 million, subject to annual appropriations, to support the research and development of advanced water power technologies, including both marine and hydrokinetic and conventional hydropower technologies. Through public-private partnerships, the FOA seeks to enhance the viability and cost-competitiveness of advanced water power systems, strengthening U.S. scientific discovery, promoting clean and secure energy, increasing economic prosperity, and demonstrating U.S. leadership in addressing climate change.

Adding to the existing $7.3 million that DOE committed in 2008 to the research, development, demonstration, and deployment of advanced water power technologies, the FOA provides industry members and industry-led partnerships the opportunity to conduct research in three topic areas:

Marine and hydrokinetic energy conversion device or component design and development: to develop, refine, and/or test marine and hydrokinetic energy conversion devices or components.
Marine and hydrokinetic site-specific environmental studies: to investigate the environmental impacts related to the installation, testing, and operation of marine and hydrokinetic energy conversion devices.
Advanced water power market acceleration projects: to conduct resource and cost assessments of U.S. offshore, in-stream, ocean thermal, and advanced hydropower resources.

Mandatory letters of intent are due May 6, and completed applications are due July 4. The complete FOA (DE-FOA-0000069), can be viewed on the FedConnect Web site. Projects are expected to begin in fiscal year 2009. Funding is subject to annual Congressional appropriations.

To access this Funding Opportunity Announcement, please follow these steps:

Go to the FedConnect Web site.
Click on "Search Public Opportunities and Awards."
Under "Search Criteria," select "Reference Number" from the drop-down menu.
Type the funding opportunity number of the opportunity you are interested in reviewing: DE-FOA-0000069.
Click on "Search." Select the opportunity that appears.
Look in the right column. Beneath a folder called "BASE" is a file called "BODY." Click on this to open the text of the opportunity.