About
The challenge
America faces severe challenges in energy sustainability and security. Ocean Renewable Energy (ORE), comprised of tidal, wave, ocean current and offshore wind energy, is believed to be one of the more environmentally sustainable ways to generate electricity and is poised to become part of the United States and global alternative energy portfolio.
Our mission
CORE is a synergistic, interdisciplinary center for research, development and evaluation for Ocean Renewable Energy systems, and a place for training the next generation of engineers, scientists and policy makers for advancing this new industry. CORE provides innovation and commercialization support for commercial developers as they evolve from terrestrial-based energy systems to tidal, ocean wave and ocean current systems—collectively known as “hydrokinetic” energy systems.
Our infrastructure
CORE’s physical infrastructure is unique in terms of proximity, ease of access, and favorable test site characteristics. It consists of the Chase Ocean Engineering (OE) Laboratory with tow/wave tank, engineering tank and water/wind tunnels, the General Sullivan Bridge tidal energy site, the UNH Pier and the AMAC/wave energy site. Mooring grids, historical environmental and survey data, and support vessels are readily available. The tidal energy site has currents of greater than 4 knots and is a full-scale test site for most vertical axis turbines, while it is considered a “large-scale” test site (geometric scale 1:3-1:5) for larger diameter (40-70 ft) horizontal axis turbines. The full-scale wave energy test site is located at the UNH Atlantic Marine Aquaculture (AMAC) site in 170 ft (52 m) of water approximately 6 miles from the New Hampshire coast. It has been successfully deployed under extreme New England winter conditions for the past 10 years.
Our team
Faculty and staff of CORE have a long history of solving complex ocean problems, and have depth of experience relevant to ocean energy in Mechanical, Ocean, Electrical and Computer, and Civil Engineering. Beyond engineering, other CORE Faculty are experts in environmental and ocean sciences, policy and regulatory issues and business and finance.
UNH Students—both graduate and undergraduate—are actively involved in CORE research, presentations and publications. Transformational innovation in the ORE sector is made possible by joining the unique capabilities of a research university like UNH with commercial ocean energy R&D.