Harnessing the power of the sea for renewable energy

$12 million from Department of Energy will boost marine energy research

University of New Hampshire

DURHAM, N.H.—(September 11, 2024)—The Atlantic Marine Energy Center (AMEC), led by the University of New Hampshire, is working to develop the technology and skills that will help unlock the power of the sea as a renewable source of energy. A $12 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will advance those efforts by funding research, facilities and workforce development for the marine energy industry. 

“There’s a lot of energy in the ocean — it’s abundant and renewable,” said Martin Wosnik, professor of mechanical and ocean engineering at UNH and AMEC director. “Marine energy has unique attributes that make it an attractive energy source and we think we can harness some of that energy in a reasonably benign way without impacting the ocean too much. We are grateful for the Department of Energy’s continued investment in our expertise at UNH and AMEC to help develop it.”

The five-year DOE award — funded largely through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — will fund projects at UNH as well as at AMEC consortium institutions Stony Brook University, Lehigh University and the Coastal Studies Institute.  

UNH will make improvements to its marine energy facilities, which include a combined wave and tow tank and deep engineering tank on campus and the UNH Tidal Energy Test Site on the Piscataqua River beneath the Memorial Bridge between Portsmouth and Kittery, Maine. Use of these assets extends beyond UNH with researchers and technicians from industry and DOE National Labs traveling to campus to utilize UNH’s unique marine energy research infrastructure. 

A series of marine energy summer short courses taught at all four consortium institutions will aim to develop a workforce for this growing industry with “boot camps” for senior undergraduates and more in-depth, advanced courses for graduate students. 

“Marine energy development faces a growing need for a highly skilled workforce with an interdisciplinary yet specialized skillset,” said Wosnik. 

The DOE estimates that marine energy resources in the U.S. — from waves, tides, ocean and river currents — is equivalent to nearly 60% of all U.S. power generation.

UNH will also launch five research projects, among a total of 12 new projects across AMEC: 

• Refining models that will test whether assumptions about tidal energy are transferable to other sites.

• Modeling and testing wave energy converters for blue economy applications such as aquaculture.
• Improving the performance of UNH’s wave-powered water pump for promoting growth rates in macroalgae (kelp) aquaculture.

• Improving the design of mooring systems for marine energy and developing new guidelines for marine energy anchor system design.
• Assessing marine energy system sustainability, economic and environmental benefits to microgrids on island communities.

In addition to the faculty researchers leading these projects, six UNH Ph.D. students will be involved. 

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About UNH
The University of New Hampshire inspires innovation and transforms lives in our state, nation and world. More than 16,000 students from 50 states and 87 countries engage with an award-winning faculty in top-ranked programs in business, engineering, law, health and human services, liberal arts and the sciences across more than 200 programs of study. A Carnegie Classification R1 institution, UNH partners with NASA, NOAA, NSF, and NIH, and received over $210 million in competitive external funding in FY23 to further explore and define the frontiers of land, sea and space.