Adam RollinsUniversities across the United States are launching projects dedicated to innovating and developing critical renewable energy technologies centered around marine energy and floating offshore wind.
While significant advancements have been made in recent years, renewable energy sources – particularly in marine energy and offshore wind – are drastically underutilized in production and deployment.
Offshore wind has received support in achieving major milestones, resulting in several commercial-scale projects and leases, but marine energy opportunities have lagged.
Marine energy harnesses power generated by waves, tides, ocean and river currents and environments. Despite the abundance of geographically diverse and abundant resources, this type of renewable energy source is not widely deployed or developed. Harnessing ocean resources could provide up to 60% of all U.S. power generation, allowing for enormous potential for both immediate and future projects.
Higher education institutions are taking the plunge to invest in cutting-edge technologies and deployments to take advantage of both marine energy generation and additional development in floating offshore wind projects.
Some of the projects include:
Rutgers University is in the process of creating a fully automated, remotely controllable water and wind energy (W2ET) test laboratory. The W2ET facility will play a critical role in advancing marine energy and offshore wind technologies, enabling the university to pursue multiple projects simultaneously. The lab will be fully digitized and focused on testing different types of waterpower and wind energy devices, reducing device costs and generating data for model-scale prototypes.
Michigan Technology University is developing an uncrewed underwater vehicle that incorporates the propulsion biomechanics of jellyfish to harvest wave power. By using the invertebrates for inspiration, the vessel can utilize a versatile robotic system to optimize power harvesting capabilities, reduce costs and remain deployed for extended periods of time.
The University of Alaska-Fairbanks (UA-Fairbanks) will continue work on developing a turbine optimized to harvest energy from slow moving waterways. The Reactive Reversible Blade Turbine will enable operators to access under-ice currents in frozen resources. A prototype will be field tested that will allow the state to tap into an inaccessible resource to provide electricity for remote locations during dark winter months.
