NHA and MRC forge partnership to advance marine energy development

U.S. National Hydropower Association (NHA) and Marine Renewables Canada (MRC) have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to improve the development of marine energy resources.

This partnership emphasizes the commitment of both organizations that are dedicated to advancing marine energy solutions, to promote the marine energy industry on a global level.

Under this MoU, NBA and MRC intend to push innovation, deal with challenges, and step up the transition towards a clean energy future by exploiting their expertise and resources. 

“While progress is being made in the marine energy sector, there are still challenges to growing the sector in the United States and internationally,” said Malcolm Woolf, President and CEO of NHA.

 “By working more closely with Marine Renewables Canada, we hope to collaborate on key challenges, build partnerships amongst our memberships, and share information and best practices that can help accelerate the sector’s development.”

The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimates that marine energy resources in the United States could reach up to 2.300 terawatt hours annually, which is about 56% of the country’s total electricity generation in 2021. 

Even tapping into just one-tenth of these resources could provide 5.6% of total electricity generation, enough to power over 22 million homes. 

To put this in perspective, in 2023, both domestic installed hydropower and solar power capacities individually contributed approximately 5.6% each to the total U.S. electricity generation.

Canada has abundant tidal, wave, river currents, and offshore wind energy resources, which are among the world’s most promising ones. In the last ten years, the country has made progress in its marine renewable energy sector, including ongoing tidal energy projects in the Bay of Fundy and initiatives to replace diesel in remote communities with marine energy solutions.

“At this stage in industry development, we need to work together to advance marine energy to a truly commercial clean energy solution,” said Elisa Obermann, Executive Director of Marine Renewables Canada.

“This strengthened collaboration with NHA will support our collective memberships in tackling challenges and bolster U.S. and Canadian efforts to address joint priorities for sector growth.”