The Department of Energy (DoE) has been conspicuously doling out grants left and right to support several clean energy initiatives in recent months. The latest beneficiary, to the tune of $1.7 million, is the Palo Alto, Calif.-based Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), which will use the funds to develop and test advanced water power technologies.
EPRI will use the first $1.2 million grant, which will be awarded over a 2-year period, to continue the development of its environmentally benign hydrokinetic turbine in partnership with Alden, a Holden, Mass.-based hydraulic and fluid dynamics research laboratory, and Concepts NREC, a White River Junction, Vt.-based turbomachinery developer.
The non-profit research organization claims the turbine design will reduce fish mortality rates to less than 5 percent while boosting power conversion efficiecy to 90 percent or higher. When deployed commercially, the turbines could generate an additional 25 gigawatts of hydropower capacity in the United States. As part of its Ocean Energy Program, the EPRI has several ongoing or planned tidal, wave and river hydrokinetic power projects in California, Washington, Alaska and other states.
The second $500,000 award will be used to develop a state-by-state wave power resource assessment — to help project developers determine the amount of available wave energy potential around the U.S. — and geographic information system (GIS) database.
So far, the DoE has allocated $7.3 million to support water power projects, many of which, including EPRI’s, require a 50 percent industry funding match.
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