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Florida gains National Center for ocean energy research

A rendering of the 20kW multi-use research turbine under development at FAU’s Center for Ocean Energy Technology

Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Ocean Energy Technology (COET) has been designated as a national center for ocean energy research and development.

The facility in Boca Raton, southeast Florida, joins national centers in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii that are also working on wave and tidal technologies.

Now designated as the Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center, it will receive funding from the US Department of Energy to undertake research and development on technologies that could generate energy from ocean currents and ocean thermal energy.

The university’s location by the Florida Straits and the Gulf Stream makes it an ideal location to test such technologies, university officials said.

FAU President Mary Jane Saunders. “This prestigious, national designation of our Center for Ocean Energy Technology is a testimony to the expertise of our researchers and staff and their commitment to provide a viable source of clean, renewable energy for Florida citizens and beyond.”

Partners

The new national center will work with industry partners to investigate and refine next-generation water power technologies.

Researchers have already put ocean current observation systems in place to secure data on the local ocean environment to act as a baseline to determine the impacts of ocean energy devices.

Future plans include full-scale field testing of prototype devices, an important step on the road to commercialization for ocean energy technologies.

Susan Skemp, executive director of FAU’s COET said the goals of the new national center fitted with the Department of Energy’s ambitions to produce more domestic, renewable energy.

Ms Slemp said: “We are extremely proud of this national designation and very appreciative of the support we have received from the state of Florida, the Department of Energy and our partners globally, who have been instrumental in helping us to achieve this major milestone.”

Founded in 2007, the Center for Ocean Energy Technology is already home to several ocean energy research projects, including the development of a 20-kilowatt tidal stream generating device.