The Electric Power Research Institute won two grants from the U.S. Department of Energy worth $1.7 million for advanced water power research and development.

One award is for the continued development of an advanced hydropower turbine. The project focuses on further developing and testing of the Alden/Concepts NREC "fish-friendly" turbine that reduces fish mortality without sacrificing power conversion efficiency. When completed, the advanced turbine will be ready for commercial deployment and could lead to an additional 25,000 MW or more of hydropower capacity in the United States.

The second award is for a wave energy resource assessment and geographic information system database for the United States.

The project will determine the available resource base and the maximum wave energy potential, as well as the annual electrical energy that could be produced by wave energy conversion devices.

Source: pennnet.com

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