Energy futureDOE seeks water power ideas to fund

Have an innovative idea for using water power for energy?
You may receive funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to pursue your
idea. DOE will fund up to $7.5 million for research and development to help
advance the viability and cost-competitiveness of advanced water power systems.
Through this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), DOE seeks partnerships
with U.S. industry and
universities to develop innovative and effective technologies to harness water
power energy resources, including ocean wave, tidal, current, and other
water-based resources. Through public-private partnerships, the FOA seeks to
advance water research and development projects in support of water power
technology. DOE plans to award industry-led partnerships to research, develop, and
field test advanced water power technologies to further President George Bush’s
Advanced
Energy Initiative, which dramatically increases clean-energy research
funding to develop cleaner, lower cost, and more reliable alternative energy
sources. Successful applicants will be required to develop collaborative
project teams involving at least one other industry, university, or national
laboratory partner and a minimum 50 percent non-federal cost share is required.
The FOA provides industry-led partnerships with the opportunity to conduct
research on engineering standards and codes, utility grid interconnection
issues associated with water technologies, technical sitting requirements, and
wave and tidal resources assessments.

DOE also plans to award grants to university-led groups
to conduct advanced research on marine renewable energy. These groups will
serve as an information clearinghouse for the marine renewable energy industry,
collecting and disseminating information on best practices research. Research
will include technology testing, experimental and numerical modeling, wave
forecasting, environmental impacts, and corrosion-resistant materials research.
Completed applications for this FOA are due 16 June 2008. All grant applications will
be merit reviewed and competitively awarded. DOE anticipates selecting up to seventeen
awards, and projects are expected to begin in Fiscal Year 2008. The
continuation of projects beyond FY 2008 is subject to Congressional
 appropriations.

The Energy Independence and Security Act signed by
President Bush in December 2007 authorizes DOE to establish a program of
research, development, demonstration, and commercial application to expand
marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy production.

Interested applicants can access a copy of the FOA at Grants.gov.