[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 49 (Friday, March 13, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 13365]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-05770]
[[Page 13365]]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Wave Energy Prize
AGENCY: Wind and Water Power Technologies Office, Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of release of draft competition rules for public
comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) gives notice of the
availability of the draft Wave Energy Prize competition Rules and Terms
and Conditions and requests public comment on the Rules and Terms and
Conditions. The prize is designed to achieve game-changing performance
enhancements to wave energy conversion (WEC) devices, establishing a
pathway to sweeping cost reductions on a commercial scale. The prize
consists of three phases--design, build, and test and evaluation. Prize
purses to the winner(s): Grand Prize ($1,500,000), 2nd Place Finisher
($500,000), and 3rd Place Finisher ($250,000).
DATES: DOE intends to launch the Wave Energy Prize in April 2015. DOE
is currently accepting public comments on the draft Prize Rules and
Terms and Conditions through March 20, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons can find the draft Prize Rules and Terms
and Conditions at waveenergyprize.org under the ``About'' tab. To
provide feedback, please submit questions and comments to:
waveenergyprize.org">info@waveenergyprize.org.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of
2010 (America COMPETES), Public Law 111-358, enacted January 4, 2011,
authorizes Federal agencies to issue competitions to stimulate
innovations in technology, education, and science. The Wave Energy
Prize leverages the America COMPETES Act to provide incentives to
design, build, and test innovative WEC devices using novel WEC
concepts.
DOE intends to launch the Wave Energy Prize, a public prize
challenge sponsored by DOE's Water Power Program, in April 2015 and is
currently accepting public comments on the draft Rules and Terms and
Conditions. The prize is designed to increase the diversity of
organizations involved in WEC technology development, while motivating
and inspiring existing stakeholders. DOE envisions this competition
will achieve game-changing performance enhancements to WEC devices,
establishing a pathway to sweeping cost reductions on a commercial
scale.
The wave energy industry is young and is experiencing many new
innovations as evidenced by a sustained growth in patent activity.
While the private industry is developing these early-concept WEC
devices through design and benchtop prototype testing, funding is hard
to secure for performance testing and evaluation of WEC devices in wave
tanks at a meaningful scale. This is a problem for the industry since
scaled WEC prototype tank testing, validation, and evaluation are key
steps in the advancement of WEC technologies through the technical
readiness levels to reach commercialization.
Goal of the Wave Energy Prize: The Wave Energy Prize will encourage
the development of more efficient WEC devices that double the energy
captured from ocean waves, which in turn will reduce the cost of wave
energy, making it more competitive with traditional energy solutions.
Economic impact of the Wave Energy Prize: A successful Wave Energy
Prize could jump-start private sector innovation critical to the
country's long-term economic growth, energy security, and international
competitiveness in the wave energy conversion sector.
Why participate in the Wave Energy Prize? The Wave Energy Prize
seeks to attract innovative ideas from developers new to the industry
and next-generation ideas from existing developers by offering a
monetary prize purse and providing an opportunity for tank testing and
evaluation of scaled WEC device prototypes at the U.S. Navy's
Maneuvering and Seakeeping Basin (MASK) facility in Carderock, MD.
Eligibility: U.S. entities are able to participate in the Wave
Energy Prize. This includes U.S. persons and companies as well as
foreign companies that are incorporated in and maintain a primary place
of business in the United States. Full eligibility requirements for the
Wave Energy Prize are set in accordance with those established by
America COMPETES, and are fully outlined in the draft Wave Energy Prize
Rules document available at: waveenergyprize.org. DOE is accepting
public comments on these draft Rules and the draft Terms and Conditions
through March 20, 2015. See waveenergyprize.org for more information.
Issued in Washington, DC, on March 10, 2015.
Jose Zayas,
Wind and Water Power Technologies Office Director, Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2015-05770 Filed 3-12-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P