The Northeast Sea Grant Consortium, in collaboration with the US Department of Energy's Office of Wind Energy Technologies and the US Department of Energy's Office of Hydropower Technologies, and NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center, today announced a research funding opportunity to improve the understanding of interactions of offshore renewables with fisheries and coastal communities to optimize ocean sharing.
This unique funding partnership will support objective, community-focused research on ocean renewable energy—including offshore wind and hydrokinetic currents, tidal and wave power—from New York Bight to the Gulf of Maine to benefit a variety of communities and stakeholders.
With a focus on promoting community and economic resilience, the funding opportunity aims to catalyze proactive socio-economic and technological research for offshore renewable energy planning in the Northeast. More than $1 million will be allocated to support research projects in three areas:
- Fisheries and Resilience of the Fishing Community
- Coastal Community and Economic Resilience
- Co-location of Ocean Renewable Energy Management with other Ocean Resource Users
As the Northeast United States moves to develop renewable energy technologies that take advantage of the region's abundant natural resources, the Northeast Sea Grant Consortium and federal partners seek collaborative, interdisciplinary, and innovative proposals with outcomes that will be valuable to a variety of stakeholders, from fisheries industry to resource managers.
The funding competition is accepting proposals from eligible North East researchers until 14 May 2021. Read more about the Request for Proposals at Sea Grant website.
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DOE's Office of Wind Energy Technologies and Office of Hydropower Technologies are committed to developing and deploying innovative technologies for clean, domestic electricity generation from natural renewable resources such as wind, hydro, wave and tidal. The mission is to enable research, development, and testing of new technologies in energy science to promote innovative energy systems in the United States. This financial partnership supports a target of sustainable development of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030.
The Northeast Sea Grant Consortium consists of the Connecticut, Maine, MIT, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Woods Hole Sea grant programs. Sea Grant's mission is to enhance the practical use and conservation of coastal, marine and Great Lakes resources to create a sustainable economy and environment.
NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center works with the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office to ensure informed management decisions based on sound science, promoting the sustainability of marine life, supporting fisheries and coastal communities, and creating economic opportunities and benefits from the use of these resources.