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[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 49 (Friday, March 13, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 13365]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing 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">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
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