Newport has been selected as the future home of the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center, to be based at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced Thursday its support for the wave energy center, and awarded a five-year grant of $1.25 million per year. It will be combined with funding from the Oregon Legislature, OSU, the Oregon Wave Energy Trust, the University of Washington and other sources, for a total of $13.5 million over the next five years.

The funding will be used to build a floating test berth to test wave energy technology on the Oregon Coast, as well as to fund environmental impact studies and community outreach. The College of Engineering, College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences and Hatfield Marine Science Center will lead technology development for the project.

Construction of the floating test berth should begin in 2010 after design, engineering work and permits have been completed.

Source: djcoregon.com

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