Abstract
The U.S. Department of Energy established a reference model project to benchmark a set of marine and hydrokinetic technologies including current (tidal, open-ocean, and river) turbines and wave energy converters. The objectives of the project were to first evaluate the status of these technologies and their readiness for commercial applications. Second, to evaluate the potential cost of energy and identify cost-reduction pathways and areas where additional research could be best applied to accelerate technology development to market readiness.