US invests $40m in wave centre

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced it will invest up to $40 million (£32.6m) in a new wave energy centre. The Pacific Marine Energy Center South Energy Test Site will […]

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced it will invest up to $40 million (£32.6m) in a new wave energy centre.

The Pacific Marine Energy Center South Energy Test Site will be constructed in Newport, Oregon as part of the Oregon State University.

The open-water, grid-connected facility will support innovation, research and development in wave power technology,  for which there are significant resources to be harnessed along the US coastline.

It will be home to four large berths that will allow the testing of full-scale wave energy equipment and models. This testing will accelerate the commercialisation of the technology by allowing developers to assess technical risks, work out how to reduce costs and put together better future designs.

More than half of US citizens live within 50 miles of the sea and will see direct positive effects from the domestic manufacture, job growth and renewable energy a tidal energy industry could bring, the DOE states.

Franklin Orr, Under-Secretary for Science and Energy at the Energy Department, adds: “This new facility will help us to advance the science and technology of wave energy devices and to identify the challenges we will ultimately need to overcome in order to achieve commercial deployment.”

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