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The marine energy research center at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth received confirmation this week that it will receive $1 million from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The funding, expected to be announced next week, will help a consortium of researchers working at the Advanced Technology Manufacturing Center’s Marine Renewable Energy Center continue developing technologies to harness power from offshore wind, waves and tidal action. The researchers come from a swath of local universities and institutions, including UMass, MIT, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, the University of New Hampshire and the University of Rhode Island.
As the Obama administration places an increased focus on developing and implementing renewable and alternative energy resources, the relatively obscure world of marine energy is receiving significant attention.
“Three years ago, the amount of DOE money going to hydrokinetic research was zero. This year, there’s $40 million,” said John Miller, director of the ATMC’s Marine Renewable Energy Center. “There’s a lot more money going into alternative energy, but this is certainly one of the areas getting its fair share. We have the brainpower, and now we do have the resources.”
While New England lacks the same energy resources as other areas in the U.S., Miller said his research lab’s goal is to allow the area to maximize its contribution. (See related story).
“We have a large population that uses energy, but we’re far from most of the energy sources. But we do have an ocean right in our backyard,” he said.
One of the Marine Renewable Energy Center’s first projects is to work with the town of Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard to develop a tidal energy project on the Muskeget Channel.
Part of the center’s goal is also to support early-stage ventures looking to commercialize technology spun out of university research. It will open a clean energy laboratory in July to measure and test prototype marine generation technologies. The ATMC provides incubation space to three marine energy firms: wave power technology developer Resolute Marine Energy Inc., tidal power developer Ocean Renewable Power Corp. and underwater unmanned vehicle developer Ocean-Server Technology Inc.
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