Leadership in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are reportedly calling on the Department of Energy (DOE) to allocate US $250 million of the $2.5 billion in stimulus funding for renewable energy research and development to the emerging marine renewable energy industry.
The funding would help develop wave, current and tidal energy technologies, reported renewableenergyworld.com.
There has been a call to provide “enhanced support” for the the research, development and field demonstration of marine renewable energy technologies.
Sean O’Neill, president of the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition, the national trade association for the marine renewable energy industry in the US, said power captured from such emerging technologies including waves “are poised for commercial application in the US.”
In the past, a report titled, Wave Energy Potential on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, released by the U.S. Department of the Interior, indicated that the offshore ocean wave energy resource has a considerable potential for making a significant contribution to the alternative usable energy supply. The total average wave energy at a depth of 60 m off the U.S. coastlines, including Alaska and Hawaii, has been estimated at 2,100 TWh/yr.
Related links: Department of Energy
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