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PRIMRE/Databases/Projects Database/Test Sites/USACE Field Research Facility (FRF)
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USACE Field Research Facility (FRF)
The Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory’s Field Research Facility (FRF) is located on the Atlantic Ocean near the town of Duck, North Carolina. Since its formation, the cornerstone of the FRF’s contribution to coastal research has been its long-term data measurements that stretch back to 1977. The facility consists of a 560 m (1840-ft) long research pier, a main office building, field support buildings, and a 40 m (130-ft) observation tower. Since its creation, the FRF has maintained a comprehensive, long-term monitoring program of the coastal ocean including waves, tides, currents, local meteorology, and the concomitant beach response. The records have evolved through time alongside the development of new tools, technologies, and approaches. Much of the current research at the FRF has not only served to further advance these capabilities, but has supported the conversion of these technologies into transferrable tools to support research or coastal project design, construction, and operation in other locations. The USACE FRF offers a wide range of technical and testing infrastructure support services for WEC developers. The site has small scale, shallow water wave energy resources, and can accommodate scaled devices. The research pier can serve as a cable conduit through the surf zone to locations on land. The FRF was utilized as an off-grid WEC test site in 2012 by Resolute Marine Energy (RME).
Additional Information
Device Status
Is the test site actively testing or in planning (active)? Or is it permanently closed for business (inactive)?
Active
Energy Resource
- Wave
Grid Connectivity
Not Grid Connected
Waterbody
Atlantic Ocean, Duck, NC, USA
Site Characteristics
Geographic characterization for the test site location:
- Open Ocean: Main body of ocean, not enclosed or partially enclosed by land
- Coastal: Open water near the coast, spanning between land and shelf boundary
- Enclosed Bay: water that is partially surrounded by land, with a mouth open to larger water
- Constricted Channel: A channel where water flows quickly due to narrowing by the land
- River: Water flowing from land towards a larger body of water
Coastal
Country
United States
Last Modified
27 May 2025
Citation Formats
“USACE Field Research Facility (FRF).” Marine Energy Projects Database: Test Sites, PRIMRE, United States Department of Energy, https://openei.org/wiki/PRIMRE/Databases/Projects_Database/Test_Sites/USACE_Field_Research_Facility_(FRF). Accessed <day> <monthRoman> <year>.
Marine Energy Projects Database: Test Sites. <year>. "USACE Field Research Facility (FRF)." Accessed <monthRoman> <day>, <year>. https://openei.org/wiki/PRIMRE/Databases/Projects_Database/Test_Sites/USACE_Field_Research_Facility_(FRF).
