US Department of Energy Extends Collaboration with Norway in Water Power Research and Development

Strategic Insights -

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has extended its commitment to collaboration with Norway's Royal Ministry of Energy in water power research and development. The extension of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will further the Trump Administration's efforts to reduce energy costs, strengthen grid reliability and security, and unleash American energy innovation. The collaboration will focus on hydropower and marine energy, which have the potential to reduce energy costs and improve the resilience of the electric grid.

Key Takeaways:

  • The US Department of Energy has extended its commitment to collaboration with Norway's Royal Ministry of Energy in water power research and development.
  • The extension of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will further the Trump Administration's efforts to reduce energy costs, strengthen grid reliability and security, and unleash American energy innovation.
  • The collaboration will focus on hydropower and marine energy, with the potential to reduce energy costs and improve the resilience of the electric grid.
  • The two parties will share foundational information, tools, and technologies to reduce barriers to the development, testing, and advancement of both marine energy and new hydropower technologies.
  • The collaboration will support President Trump's pro-growth energy agenda for the American people.
  • The two countries will work together to expand their generation capacity, upgrade existing facilities, and cultivate the technical expertise needed to make the most of these opportunities.

Statistics:

  • In 2020, DOE and Norway's Royal Ministry of Energy signed a five-year MOU Annex that brought together DOE's Water Power Technologies Office and the Norwegian Research Centre for Hydropower Technology to collaborate on hydropower research and development.
  • The extended MOU Annex expands the scope of this collaboration to include marine energy, which has the potential to provide locally sourced energy to millions of Americans in the most densely populated regions of the country.
  • Across the United States, there are 2,437 dams with a hydropower capacity of 89,000 megawatts (MW) and 1,307 operational tidal, wave, and ocean energy systems (Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory).

Sources:

  • U.S. Department of Energy
  • Department of Energy and Norway's Royal Ministry of Energy, Memorandum of Understanding Annex (2020)
  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory, "2020 Update of the National Assessment of Marine and Hydrokinetic (MHK) Resources in the United States"