The US Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) opened an opportunity (DE-FOA-0003415) for up to $112.5 million in funding to advance the commercial readiness of wave energy technologies through open water testing and system validation. This five-year investment will significantly accelerate the design, fabrication, and testing of multiple wave energy converters (WECs), which harness power from ocean waves.

Wave energy, a type of marine energy, can provide local, affordable, and clean energy for U.S. electric grids, coastal communities, and offshore work and the blue economy. For example, it can help power rural and remote island communities, which often rely on expensive shipments of fossil fuels.

Wave energy is abundant and complementary to other renewable energy sources, such as wind energy and solar power. While it is not yet widely deployed across the country, the total available wave energy resource in the United States is equivalent to approximately 34% of all US power generation. Even if only a portion of this technical resource potential is captured, wave energy technologies could make significant contributions to US energy needs.

This opportunity is designed to reduce risks for deployments, increase the potential for commercial adoption through longer-duration demonstrations (expected to last six months to two years), and offer additional benefits to help quickly advance WECs. This includes the ability to identify and mature high-potential WEC technologies, reduce financial risks for developers and incentivize investors, progress technologies at smaller scales while developing toward utility scale, and increase learning for installation, operations, and maintenance.

This opportunity will fund projects in three topic areas:

• Up to $16.875 million for wave device development and open water testing for dispersed (e.g., remote/offshore) use cases and power-at-sea applications.

• Up to $45 million for wave device development in direct support of coastal community needs, which may include power and/or desalinated water applications.

• Up to $50.625 million for wave device development in support of utility power needs, utilizing offshore, grid-connected testing facilities such as PacWave.

Up to 17 awards are anticipated under the Oceans of Opportunity: US Wave Energy Open Water Testing funding opportunity. Individual awards may vary between $2.41 million and $25.313 million.