Announcement: Funding Opportunity Announcement: DE-FOA-0000816 - Marine and Hydrokinetic (MHK) Environmental Effects Assessment and Monitoring

Issue Date: 4/25/2013

Total Award Money: $1,600,000

FOA Objective: To support the collection of environmental monitoring and experimental data from MHK devices and analyses of existing data.

Description: In conjunction with the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP), the Energy Department selected the University of Washington to conduct environmental monitoring and analyze experimental and existing data on marine mammal responses to marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) devices. Field monitoring data is needed to validate results from lab experiments, to prioritize future environmental monitoring and mitigation efforts, to reduce uncertainty about what environmental effects are most likely to occur, and subsequently to help reduce deployment costs for developers.

Areas of interest supported by the funding included:

• Fish Behavior and Mortality Around Hydrokinetic Turbines
• Environmental Monitoring of MHK Projects
• Analysis of Environmental Effects of MHK Surrogate Technologies

The NOPP was established to promote the national goals of assuring national security, advancing economic development, protecting quality of life, and strengthening science education and communication through improved knowledge of the ocean; and coordinate and strengthen oceanographic efforts in support of those goals by identifying and carrying out partnerships among Federal agencies, academia, industry, and other members of the oceanographic scientific community in the areas of data, resources, education, and communication.

Funding Awardee: University of Washington, Seattle, Washington