Portland, OR – Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today that the Energy and Water Appropriations bill that passed the Senate this week includes $70 million for wave and geothermal energy research grants. Oregon State University (OSU), as a leader in wave and geothermal energy research, will be well-positioned to compete for these funds.
The funding includes $35 million to build the first in-water, grid-connected wave energy test facility in the nation. Another $35 million will fund a competitive grant to create a geothermal energy test facility. OSU and its partners are well-positioned to compete for this grant to complete the final phase of the Frontier Observatory for Research Geothermal Energy (FORGE).
“Oregon State University is a national leader in wave and geothermal energy research.” said Merkley. “These grant opportunities are a natural opportunity for OSU to deepen its leadership position on both wave and geothermal energy research and help transition our nation away from fossil fuels to new, innovative renewable energy.”
“Oregon State University leads the way in so many fields, which is why I am so pleased to have fought so hard for the school, which deserves support for its pioneering work in wave and geothermal energy,” Wyden said. “And the resources for OSU will ripple throughout the economy and environment with benefits as well for the growing clean energy sector in Oregon and nationwide.”
The bill was passed by the Senate this week. The next step would be for the bill to be merged with a counterpart bill from the U.S. House of Representatives in order to be passed by both houses and signed into law.
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