DOE Grant Funds Tidal Energy Research
UW is co-lead
The U.S. Department of Energy, on September 18, 2008, announced the award of a National Marine Energy Research Center at the University of Washington and Oregon State University. OSU will serve as the lead institution and focus on coastal wave energy, while the UW will focus on tidal energy in estuaries and free-flow turbine applications. UW co-directors are Professors Phil Malte (Mechanical Engineering) and Mitsuhiro Kawase (Oceanography). Funding involves five years of USDOE support. The total five-year package is $13.5 million, with $2.7 million at the UW.
According to Phil Malte, "The Center will permit the UW to expand its studies on the potential of tidal and hydrokinetic energy, including continued partnering with the Snohomish Public Utility District, which also received funding under the USDOE program, and the Electric Power Research Institute. Hydrokinetic energy involves the operation of turbines in free-flowing streams of water without the building of dams. Partnering with other firms will also be possible, including Seattle-based BioSonics in the area of marine instrumentation and monitoring, Verdant Power in area of turbine installation, and the Pacific Northwest Economic Region serving the northwest states and Canadian provinces."
The major thrusts of the UW Center will be:
- Environmental impacts modeling, a cornerstone of the UW effort. The goal is to understand the potential impacts of undersea turbines and to understand how to site, deploy, and operate the turbines with negligible impact to the estuary and its life. Results will be shared with local, state, and federal agencies to inform policy decisions. Prof. Kawase will lead this effort.
- Mobile instrumentation packages for device and environmental monitoring will be developed. Packages will leverage the expertise of industry partners to address the needs of the stakeholders. Dr. Jim Thomson of the Applied Physics Lab will lead this effort.
- Device and array optimization will use both laboratory and computer models compared against observational data from pilot tests. Models will initially focus on individual devices and then scale up to fields of devices for investigation of both near and far-field effects. Prof. Alberto Aliseda of ME will lead this effort.
- To increase the reliability and survivability of marine energy systems, the use of corrosion and biofouling resistant materials and structural composites will be investigated. Prof. Mark Tuttle of ME will lead this effort.
- Hydrokinetic energy conversion in constructed waterways may offer additional opportunity for in-stream power. Prof. Malte will lead this effort.
