Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC) has secured $2.24 million for the development of its technology from the US Department of Energy (DoE).
The funding provided by the US DoE will help ORPC develop an innovative deployment and retrieval capability that will significantly reduce costs for cross-flow design marine hydrokinetic systems, in which a turbine generates power from tides and/or rivers.
The turbine blades will employ active pitch control to allow for thrust generation in deployment or retrieval mode and higher efficiency in power generation mode.
If successful, this project could reduce the cost of the installation process in which ORPC’s turbine could be placed in the water near shore, selfpropel to the deployment location, and hold itself in place on the seafloor through redirected downward thrust.
The funding is provided through US DoE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy’s (ARPA-E) Open 2015 programme.
A total of $125 million was awarded to 41 innovative energy technologies in an effort to advance US energy security and help achieve climate goals.
Ernest Moniz , US Energy Secretary, said: “As we look beyond COP21, the energy technologies the Department of Energy invests in today will provide the solutions needed to combat climate change and develop a global low-carbon economy in the future.”
ARPA-E funds innovative technologies that display promise for both technical and commercial impact, but are too early for private-sector investment. The OPEN 2015 projects come from 21 states and encompass 10 technical categories, including transportation, electricity generation and delivery and energy efficiency.
ORPC is a US-based in-river, tidal and deep-water ocean current power generation systems and projects developer.
Image: ORPC