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As the energy debate rages in political and scientific circles, investment in clean energy technologies continues to rise. Clean Energy Trends 2008, published by research firm Clean Edge, estimates that fuel cells, solar PV, wind energy, and biofuels — a combined $77.3 billion market in 2007 — will increase to $254.5 billion (or 229 percent) within a decade. Even ocean energy research, which once ebbed due to its costly nature, has enjoyed a resurgence, attracting $250 million in global capital expenditure since 2004, according to ABS Energy Research. Yet, it remains to be seen which clean energy technologies have the brightest commercial future.

Is ocean energy the next wave?

A recent report completed by Greentech Media and the Prometheus Institute for Sustainable Development estimates that the annual market size for ocean energy in the next six years will total $500 million, with installed capacity growing from less than 10MW today to about 1GW during the same period. However, ocean energy remains largely uncharted compared to the progress made on other renewable energy fronts.

The Florida Atlantic University Center for Ocean Energy Technology (COET) is working to change that by focusing on ocean energy permitting and policy development, education and workforce development, public outreach, standards development and economic analysis.

The center is also taking advantage of its proximity to the Gulf Stream, which flows at a rate of more than 8 billion gallons per minute and whose harnessed power could provide up to a third of Florida’s energy needs. COET is fabricating and deploying a small prototype turbine and health monitoring/diagnostic systems in hopes of producing the technical and environmental data to turn potential into reality. 

“At this time, no commercially meaningful amounts of electricity are being produced through the use of open-ocean currents anywhere in the world,” says COET Executive Director Susan Skemp. “The Center for Ocean Energy Technology is serving as a catalyst for establishing the infrastructure to develop and deploy commercially viable ocean current–based energy systems to assist both Florida and the nation in addressing the energy crisis.”  

The future of fuel cells

When it comes to research contracts and testing, the fuel cell and distributed hydrogen market is expected to leap from a $1.5 billion to $16 billion industry in the next decade. And it appears that even during the bleakest times on Wall Street, the fuel cell industry only stands to gain momentum, thanks to a provision in the federal financial bailout plan. It grants an eight-year extension to an income tax credit for companies that install fuel cells. The credit had been set to expire this year.

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