Thank you for coming!
Although #ORECMECC2026 has ended, we want to thank all of you who made such a productive, successful, and enjoyable event possible: our speakers and panelists, sponsors, venue/catering/print partners, and of course, our attendees. We can't wait to see you all again soon.
<3 – The entire POET team
UMERC+METS
Tuesday, September 13
8:00 a.m.
Registration & Coffee
9:00 a.m.
Opening Remarks
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- Samantha Quinn
- Andrea Copping
- Michael Lawson
9:30 a.m.
Track 1, Session 1
Moderator: Jen Franck
- Design and Modeling of the Laboratory Upgrade Point Absorber Wave Energy Converter, Courtney Beringer, Oregon State University
- Debris risks and mitigation strategies for hydrokinetic turbines, Dr. Budi Gunawan, Sandia National Laboratories
- Optimization of Intracycle Velocity Control for Cross Flow Turbines, Ari Athair, University of Washington
- Coupled Fluid Structure Interaction Simulation on a Horizontal Tidal Current Turbine, Dr. Dongyoung Kim, Sandia National Laboratories
- Modeling and predicting Oscillating Surge Wave Energy Converter system behavior using dynamic mode decomposition, Brittany Lydon, University of Washington
Track 2, Session 1
Moderator: Tim Mundon
- Powering the Blue Economy - Research and Development at the US Department of Energy National Laboratories, Tessa Greco, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- WEC-UUV: successes and lessons learned from sea trials, Dr. Curtis Rusch, Applied Physics Lab - University of Washinton
- Integrated Combined Energy Box, Dr. Ben McGilton, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- SPH model of a sea wave powered UUV docking station, Dr. Vito Zago, Applied Physics Lab - University of Washington
- Development of the Halona Oscillating Water Column WEC for Blue Economy Applications, Nicholas Ulm, University of Hawaii at Manoa
11:00 a.m.
Networking/Visit Posters
11:15 a.m.
Plenary Session
Speaker: Maha Haji, Assistant Professor, Cornell University
Introduction: Dr. Bryony DuPont, Associate Professor, Oregon State University
Traditionally, roadblocks to the commercialization of ocean renewable energy have included the need to build systems that can withstand the harsh ocean environment, as well as the need for control schemes for devices that can maximize power extraction over a range of conditions. Over the last decade, the industry has been steadily progressing towards overcoming these challenges, incrementally scaling up designs by leveraging the more distributed energy generation needs of the Blue Economy. With over 900 marine energy projects, devices, technologies, and organizations in the U.S. and around the world, standardization and more data and technology transfer between projects and sectors could accelerate industry progress. This talk pulls from the success of other mature industries to highlight the power that standardization and the transfer of data and technology could have for ocean renewable energy.
11:45 a.m.
Track 1, Session 2
Moderator: Brian Polagye
- The Influence of Cycle-to-Cycle Variation on Cross-Flow Turbine Performance, Abigale Snortland, University of Washington
- Recent Progress in Subcomponent Validation of Composite Joints for the Marine Energy Advanced Materials Project, Dr. Paul Murdy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Deployment of Thermoplastic Composite Marine Current Turbine Blades in the East River, New York, Ryan Beach, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Mississippi River Characterization for Current Energy Converter Systems, Dr. Nhu Nguyen, Sandia National Laboratories
- Effects of surface roughness on performance of a helical cross-flow turbine made with electron beam melting (EBM) 3D-printed titanium blades, Nicole Marone, Atlantic Marine Energy Center, University of New Hampshire
Track 2, Session 2
Moderator: M. Laura Beninati
- Waves to Water HERO WEC Design and Deployments, Scott Jenne, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Ocean Wave Powered Reverse Osmosis Desalination: Pilot Study and Modeling Validation, Jia Mi, University of Michigan
- Performance of reverse osmosis membrane with large feed pressure fluctuations from a wave-driven desalination system, Dr. Kurban Sitterley, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Lessons Learned in Developing a Lightweight Wave Powered Desalination System, Dr. Wesley Williams, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
- Status of the VIVACE Converter: Current and wave energy harvester using fluid structure interaction and fish-bioinspired control, Prof. Michael Bernitsas, University of Michigan
1:15 p.m.
Lunch
2:15 p.m.
Track 1, Session 3
Moderator: Tim Mundon
- A Technology Innovation System (TIS) Analysis of Research and Innovation in the US Marine Energy Sector, Dr. Shana Hirsch, University of Washington
- Introducing the Marine Energy Projects Database, Jonathan Whiting, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Capturing Lessons Learned as the U.S. Marine Energy Industry Advances, Hayley Farr, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- A review on recent advancement and challenges of power converters for marine renewable energy, Deepi Singh, Stony Brook University
- Modeling of LCOE for techno-economic feasibility analysis of coaxial dual-rotor tidal turbines, Mehedi Hassan, North Carolina State University
Track 2, Session 3
Moderator: Craig Hill
- Geospatial Analysis of U.S. Ocean Wave Power Potential, Dr. Bryson Robertson, Pacific Marine Energy Center, Oregon State University
- The Influence of Slack Conditions on Tidal Energy Resource Characterization, Christopher Ruhl, Lehigh University
- Turbulence Modeling to Support Tidal Energy Resource Characterization in the Western Passage, USA, Dr. Zhaoqing Yang, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- In-Situ Performance and Load Measurements for a Grid Connected Tidal Energy Conversion System, Prof. Martin Wosnik, Atlantic Marine Energy Center, University of New Hampshire
- Resource Assessment Upsampling, Hannah Mankle, Oregon State University
3:45 p.m.
Networking/Visit Posters
4:00 p.m.
Track 1, Session 4
Moderator: Andrea Copping
- OpenFAST for Marine Turbines: Development of an Open-Source Modeling Tool, Dr. Hannah Ross, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Towards a Unified Framework for WEC Numerical Modeling, Dr. David Ogden, NREL
- Estuarine hydrodynamic modeling towards incorporating environmental effects in digital twinning of marine energy devices, Dr. Jang-Geun Choi, Atlantic Marine Energy Center, University of New Hampshire
- New features of the WEC-Sim V5.0 Release, Dr. Dominic Forbush, Sandia National Laboratories
- Open-Source Software WecOptTool’s applicationsfor Wave Energy Converter Control Co-Design, Dr. Daniel Gaebele, Sandia National Laboratories
Track 2, Session 4
Moderator: Jia Mi
This young professional session will focus on career development discussion. Several early career professionals with diverse career paths will join in a panel discussion to share their career development experience.
5:30 p.m.
UMERC+METS Reception
Wednesday, September 14
8:30 a.m.
Coffee
9:00 a.m.
Track 1, Session 5
Moderator: Michael Lawson
- Experimental comparison of passive blade pitch control strategies for marine current turbines, Dr. Katherine Van Ness, University of Washington
- Power Quality and Flicker of a Grid-Connected Wave Energy Converter via Hybrid Simulation, Michael Boller, Oregon State University
- Dual-flap Floating Oscillating Surge Wave Energy Converter with a Novel Belt-driven Power Takeoff: Design, Modeling and Tank Tests, Jia Mi, University of Michigan
- OWSC Design Study for Hydraulic PTO Optimization and Hydro Turbine Selection, Kyle Pappas, University of Hawaii
- Performance of a cross-flow turbine array at high confinement, Aidan Hunt, University of Washington
Track 2, Session 5
Moderator: Arielle Cardinal
- Pursuing Just outcomes for marine renewable energy with community-driven design, Ali Trueworthy, Oregon State University
- Using marine energy in oyster farming operations: an assessment of opportunities, Candace Briggs, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Exploring wave energy to support the sovereign interests of the Makah Tribe, Trent Dillon, University of Washington
- Value Metrics and Global Impact Potential of Wave Energy, Rebecca McCabe, Cornell University
- The Economic and Energy Feasibility of Installing Wave Energy Converters in Yakutat, AK, Baxter Bond, University of Alaska Fairbanks
10:30 a.m.
Plenary Session
This panel includes researchers, community leaders, decision-makers and their staff, and design volunteers from two community-based marine energy feasibility studies, one in Sitka, Alaska and another in partnership with the Makah Tribe in Neah Bay, WA. These projects are similar yet distinct approaches to understanding the potential of marine energy as a tool for responding to community goals and challenges. Panelists will share their experiences working with one another, engaging with marine energy research, and implementing community-driven methods and co-design strategies with the explicit goal of understanding how wave energy technology may best support community interests.
- Moderator: Dr. Shana Hirsch, University of Washington
- Ali Truworthy, Oregon State University
- Trent Dillon, University of Washington
- Community and staff members from Sitka, Alaska and the Washington Makah Tribe
11:30 a.m.
Poster Session
12:30 p.m.
Lunch
1:30 p.m.
Track 1, Session 6
Moderator: Martin Wosnik
- Weather Windows for Marine Operation at Wave Energy Test Site, Hawaii, Dr. Ning Li, University of Hawaii at Manoa
- Towards Twinning Tidal Energy Sites in a Laboratory Water Tunnel, Arindam Banerjee, Lehigh University
- Field Testing of Water Horse Current Energy Converter, Ben Loeffler, University of Alaska Fairbanks
- Open Water Data Acquisition on a Vertical-Axis Tidal Turbine, Dr. Aidan Bharath, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Field Testing of BladeRunner Current Energy Converter, Ben Loeffler, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Track 2, Session 6
Moderator: Sam McWilliams
- Quantitative Evaluation of Four Flow Shield Designs, Dr. Emma Cotter, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Drifting acoustic measurements of tidal turbine radiated noise in an urban waterway, Lindsey Jones, University of Washington
- Taking a Broader Look at Environmental and Ecological Effects of Marine Energy Development, Dr. Lenaig Hemery, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Acoustic Characterization around the CalWave Wave Energy Converter, Dr. Kaus Raghukumar, Integral Consulting
- Benefits of real-time object detection for environmental monitoring of marine energy devices, Paul Murphy, MarineSitu
3:00 p.m.
Networking/Visit Posters
3:30 p.m.
Track 1, Session 7
Moderator: M. Laura Beninati
- MHK Wake flow field and power generation predictions using physics-informed convolutional neural networks, Prof. Ali Khosronejad, Stony Brook University
- Performance Assessment of Large-Scale WECs Array with the Consideration of Disturbed Wave Field, Dr. Shangyan Zou, Oregon State University
- Simulations of Dual Cross-Flow Turbines under High Confinement, Prof. Jennifer Franck, University of Wisconsin
- Layout and Design Considerations for a Confinement-Exploiting Array of Cross-flow Turbines, Dr. Brian Polagye, University of Washington
- Wave Energy Converter Array Models for Layout Assessment, Dr. Markel Penalba, Mondragon University
Track 2, Session 7
Moderator: Dan Petcovic
- Opportunity Assessment of Coastal Structure Integrated Wave Energy Converters, Dr. Ben McGilton, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Chaotic Behavior of a Pendulum WEC in Irregular Seas, Dr. Chris Dizon, Oregon State University
- Numerical Modeling of a Small-Scale Wave Energy Converter with Inflation Geometry Control, Michael Kelly, UC Berkeley
- Internal Reaction Mass Taxonomy and Narrow Down Study, Dr. Jim McNally, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Distributed Embedded Energy Converter Technologies (DEEC-Tec) for Marine Renewable Energy, Dr. Blake Boren, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
5:00 p.m.
Closing Remarks and Prizes
5:30 p.m.
OREC Reception
Ocean Renewable Energy Conference
Wednesday, September 14
11:00 a.m.
Registration
12:00 p.m.
Lunch
1:30 p.m.
Video Welcome:
- U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (pre-recorded)
Introduction:
- Jason Busch, POET Executive Director
1:45 p.m.
Like much of the nation, the Pacific Northwest energy grid and markets are grappling with a profound clean energy transition. In the midst of unprecedented climate events, dramatic shifts in energy use and contemplated replacements of fossil fuel and hydro-electric generation, energy planners are simultaneously gearing up to accommodate the region’s projected population growth and decarbonization of the transportation sector. Join POET’s Policy Director, Shannon Souza along with this session’s panelists for an overview and discussion of the implications on ocean-based renewables of the newly organized Western Resource Adequacy Program, growing momentum toward a Regional Transmission Organization, and reassessing Capacity valuation to reflect modern priorities.
Moderator:
- Shannon Souza, POET Policy Director
Panelists:
- Adam Schultz, Senior Analyst Oregon Department of Energy – RTO, BER (slide deck)
- Travis Douville, PNNL/ US DOE – Generating Resource values of OSW (slide deck)
- Mark Thompson, Commissioner, Oregon Public Utility Commission (slide deck)
3:00 p.m.
Networking Break
3:30 p.m.
This panel will consider a number of different pathways for ocean technology to contribute to economy-wide decarbonization while supporting a sustainable, profitable, and equitable blue economy. Panelists will presentation on emerging opportunities including offshore renewables-green hydrogen, new use cases for ocean thermal energy conversion, maritime sector decarbonization, and marine carbon dioxide removal and storage. Additionally, we will discuss recent policy developments supporting ocean based climate solutions, new models for collaborative research, and the need for regional collaboration across sectoral stovepipes
Moderator:
- Simon Geerlofs, PNNL Marine and Coastal Research Laboratory (slide deck)
Panelists:
- Shana Hirsch, PMEC, University of Washington – Potential impacts from emerging marine energy technologies on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (slide deck)
- Bill Henry, POET – Offshore Renewable Energy and Green Hydrogen (slide deck)
- Andrea Copping, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory – New Use Cases for Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (slide deck)
- Christian Meinig, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory – Public Private Partnerships for Ocean Technology Development and Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (slide deck)
- Cassidy Fischer, Washington Maritime Blue - New Models for Innovation to Grow a Low Carbon Blue Economy (slide deck)
5:30 p.m.
OREC Reception
Thursday, September 15
CONFERENCE
WORKSHOPS
8:00 a.m. WORKSHOP
The purpose of the workshop is for each lab to share information on their workforce and STEM activities to assess linkages between existing work, identify gaps and to discuss opportunities for collaboration and information sharing.
Facilitator: Arielle Cardinal, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Location: Breakout Room
Do you spend a lot of time and effort curating and processing data before conducting your analysis? Working with standardized data not only saves time and effort but improves data compatibility, reusability, and interoperability.The Marine Energy (ME) Data Pipeline effort led by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has developed a data ingestion pipeline Tsdat to help users read, process, run quality control and convert raw data to standard formats, with the goal of reducing the time spent on data wrangling while producing high-quality standardized datasets.
Facilitator: Chitra Sivaraman, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Location: Club Room (downstairs)
8:45 a.m.
- Perspectives on Industry: Justin Klure, Pacific Energy Ventures and POET Board Chair
- Welcoming Remarks: U.S. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (pre-recorded)
9:00 a.m.
The Biden Administration's commitment to renewable energy presents a great opportunity for the advancement of marine energy in the U.S. This session will provide a summary of the D.C. policy landscape, with a focus on goals, budgets and opportunities.
Speakers:
- Paul Gay, Strategic Marketing Innovations – Policy and Legislative updates
- Tim Ramsey, U.S. Department of Energy – Department of Energy updates (slide deck)
10:00 a.m.
One of the top priorities of the European Union is fighting global climate change and achieving zero net emissions by 2050 within its strategic framework of the Green Deal Agenda. Offshore Renewable Energy plays a significant role in delivering on this strategy, with targets of 60 GW for offshore wind and 1 GW for wave & tidal energy to be deployed by 2030. This session will highlight European policy and market support to marine renewables followed by an update on technology developments. The panel is composed of the pan-European delegation gathered around ELBE Alliance of blue energy clusters from 7 countries (Spain, Sweden, Denmark, UK, Norway, France, Belgium).
- Marcos Suarez Garcia, Basque Energy Cluster, Spain
- Claes Eskilsson, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
- WEC Developers including: IDOM Oceantec, CORPOWER Ocean, WAVES4POWER, OCEAN HARVESTING and CRESTWING
10:30 a.m. WORKSHOP
The Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office’s initial investment in marine renewable energy (MRE) software was driven by needs identified nearly a decade ago. MRE is a growing and evolving field, with new concepts and technologies constantly being pursued. The goal of this workshop is to solicit the MRE community’s input on MRE software gaps and identify software needs.
Facilitator: Kelley Ruehl, Sandia National Laboratories
Location: Breakout Room
11:00 a.m.
Networking Break
11:15 a.m.
PacWave Updates (slide deck)
-
- Dan Hellin, PacWave Deputy Director
11:30 a.m.
Moderator:
- Levi Kilcher, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (slide deck)
Panelists:
- Kurtis Gibson, Hilcorp Alaska (slide deck)
- Ben Loeffler, Alaska Center for Energy and Power (slide deck)
- John Ferland, ORPC (slide deck)
12:30 p.m.
Lunch
12:30 p.m. WORKSHOP
The FOSWEC is a laboratory scale dual flap wave energy converter previously tested at Oregon State University's O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory. Sandia National Labs, Evergreen Innovations, and Oregon State have developed a digital twin model for the FOSWEC, that includes hydrodynamics, sensor noise/quantization, and a model for the power take-off system, all running in real-time. Do you think you have what it takes to design and implement a controller to maximize electrical power on this system? If so please attend this workshop to learn more about our FOSWEC Digital Twin Control Competition.
Facilitator: Ryan Coe, Sandia National Laboratories
Location: Breakout Room
1:30 p.m.
Join speakers from the Department of Energy and National Labs as they provide an overview of the DOE Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) community-centered and demonstration focused activities within their Powering the Blue Economy portfolio. The Resilient Coastal Communities program within PBE supports energy innovation for remote, coastal, and island communities with a focus on end-user needs, emergent blue economy markets, technology optimization, and marine energy. While these efforts aim to advance development of marine energy technologies, there is increasing recognition on the part of scientists, technology providers, industry, DOE and other federal agencies that designing and deploying effective renewable energy technologies requires co-production of approaches and tools with communities and stakeholders interested in transitioning to renewable energy resources. By employing this methodology through technical assistance programs like the Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project (ETIPP) and utilizing tools like the Deployment Readiness Framework to understand the influencing factors which motivate or deter energy transitions, WPTO hopes to engage a number of near-term marine energy demonstration opportunities.
Moderator:
- Tessa Greco, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (slide deck)
Panelists:
- Katie Arkema, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (slide deck)
- Kerry Grantham, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (slide deck)
- Simon Gore, U.S. Department of Energy (slide deck)
1:30 p.m. WORKSHOP
The Marine and Hydrokinetic Toolkit (MHKiT) is an open-source software package developed in Python and Matlab that includes modules for ingesting, quality controlling, processing, visualizing, and managing marine energy data. This workshop will introduce the functionality within in the package, and will include demonstrations in Python. At the end of the webinar, there will be time where attendees will be invited to try processing their own data using MHKiT with members of the development team available to help.
Facilitator: Rebecca Fao, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
3:00 p.m.
Networking Break
3:00 p.m. WORKSHOP
The purpose of the workshop is for each lab to share information on their workforce and STEM activities to assess linkages between existing work, identify gaps and to discuss opportunities for collaboration and information sharing.
Facilitator: Arielle Cardinal, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
3:30 p.m.
Moderator:
- Matthew Sanders, POET
Panelists:
- Dr. Katie Verlinden, SubSeaSail (slide deck)
- Kristi Terrasa, Columbia Power (slide deck)
- Dan Petcovic, CalWave (slide deck)
- Tim Mundon, Oscilla
5:00 p.m.
Closing Remarks