Carpinteria Business Gets Grant to Develop Clean Ocean Energy Technology

Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif-23) announced that Carpinteria’s Ecomerit Technologies will receive a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to accelerate the technological and commercial readiness of its Aquantis C-plane project, which seeks to generate renewable electricity from ocean currents.

The grant will advance the ability of marine and hydrokinetic energy technologies, like Ecomerit’s Aquantis C-plane, to contribute to the nation’s electricity supply, while making the U.S. a leader in the marine energy industry. The grant is part of $37 million in grants announced by the Department to support 27 marine and hydrokinetic energy technology projects across the country. Ecomerit has also received $1.35 million in Recovery Act funding.

“This is more good news for the growing green business revolution on the Central and South Coasts,” said Capps. “Our region has quickly become a “hot spot” for the future clean energy economy and small businesses like Ecomerit are just one of our many leading innovators. This Energy Department grant will ensure that Ecomerit’s promising marine energy technology can move to market quickly, spurring economic growth, creating jobs, and helping to reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels.”

“The DOE support for the Aquantis C-plane is an important milestone that will significantly advance technology for harnessing the abundant energy resource of the Atlantic’s Gulf Stream current, a previously untapped source of renewable energy. This has the potential to provide the southeastern coastal states with gigawatt amounts of clean, renewable electric power, enabling state compliance with future Federal renewable energy mandates, while creating thousands of quality jobs in manufacturing, turbine deployment, and for crews of the fleet of operating and maintenance vessels that will follow,” said James B. Dehlsen, CEO of Dehlsen Associates LLC/Ecomerit.

The nation’s ocean waves, tides, currents, thermal gradients, and free-flowing rivers represent a promising energy source located close to centers of electricity demand. The Department of Energy is working with industry, universities, national laboratories, and other groups to develop technologies capable of harnessing these resources to generate environmentally sustainable, cost-competitive power

“These innovative projects will help grow water power’s contribution to America’s clean energy economy,” said Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu.