Advanced Energy Harvesting Control Schemes for Marine Renewable Energy Devices Award Number: DE-EE0006397 CX(s) Applied: B5.25 Water Power Program Date: 07/17/2014 Location(s): AK Office(s): Golden Field Office
Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance
March 4, 2016
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Advanced Energy Harvesting Control Schemes for Marine Renewable Energy Devices
Award Number: DE-EE0006397
CX(s) Applied: B5.25
Water Power Program
Date: 07/17/2014
Location(s): AK
Office(s): Golden Field Office
DOE is proposing to provide funding to Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC) to investigate, analyze and model advanced turbine control schemes with the objective of increasing the energy produced by hydrokinetic turbines.
A previous NEPA determination was conducted for this project which allowed Tasks 1.0-3.0, 5.0, and 6.0. The remaining tasks involve in-water site characterization and component testing activities associated with ORPC’s RivGen turbine, currently in operation in the Kvichak River, Alaska. This NEPA review is being conducted for Tasks 3.2 and 3.3, which involve site and environmental characterization activities. Task 4.0 involves testing components on the RivGen turbine that would include removal and redeployment of the device. ORPC has not finalized details on these activities; therefore a meaningful NEPA analysis for this task cannot be completed at this time. For task 3.2, ORPC would deploy and operate three Sea Spiders with Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) and three Tidal Turbulence Moorings with Acoustic Doppler Velocimeters (ADVs), which would characterize inflow conditions around the RivGen device. Data gathered during this task would then be analyzed in task 3.3.