The DOE announced last week the selection of six projects for federal funding, each related to research regarding water power technologies, including both offshore marine and hydrokinetic energy. The recipients for marine and hydrokinetic energy project funding are the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Golden, CO), the Sandia National Laboratories (Albuquerque, NM) and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Sequim, WA), each of which will be partnering with universities, other laboratories, and in some cases private industry.
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Although developments involving energy projects on inland waterways is not the usual focus of the Offshore Energy Law Blog, it is worth mentioning that the first federally licensed hydrokinetic power project has begun commercial operations. The 100-kW hydrokinetic turbine, manufactured by Hydro Green Energy, LLC, began commercial power generation earlier this month in the Mississippi River near Hastings, MN. The company’s press release offers additional coverage.
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A report released this week entitled "International Offshore Wind Market to 2020" predicts electricity from the world's offshore wind projects could reach up to 55 GW by 2020. The report, produced by ODS-Petrodata, also predicts that $61 billion could be invested in the sector by 2020. Power Engineering International provides additional news coverage, and the report is available for purchase on the ODS-Petrodata website.
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The White House-created Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force has begun work on its new ocean policy recommendation to President Obama that would unify the 20 federal agencies and over 140 distinct laws that address aspects of ocean policy. After a series of listening tours around the country that began last week, the task force is slated to develop recommendations that will focus on protecting the oceans and the Great Lakes, as well as sustaining economic activity that depends on them. The group will then have three months to lay the groundwork for a new marine planning system, which could create a new system of ocean zoning to allocate resources across varying uses from recreation to shipping to renewable energy. NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco told Greenwire (carried via the New York Times [free registration required]) that the task force is unlikely to have the specifics of a marine spatial plan worked out by the end of this year, but she expects that the group will have a more detailed road map developed by that time.
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The MMS's auction of federal oil and natural gas leases in the Western Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 19 pulled in $115,466,321 in bidding. MMS received 189 total bids from 27 companies on 162 federal Outer Continental Shelf tracts. Each bid will now be evaluated to ensure fair market value before the leases are awarded.
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Today FERC and the state of Maine announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to coordinate review processes and schedules for hydrokinetic energy projects proposed for offshore Maine. This agreement is the first of its kind on the U.S. East Coast and is similar to previous agreements between FERC and the states of Oregon and Washington.
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President Obama plans to nominate Cynthia Quarterman to lead the Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). Quarterman, a member of Obama's DOE Transition Team, previously served as MMS Director during the Clinton Administration. She is currently a partner at a law firm in Washington and has also worked as an engineer for IBM. Quarterman holds a law degree from Columbia University and a degree in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University.
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Today's Federal Register carries an announcement that Ocean Renewable Power Company, LLC has filed a Notice of Intent to file an application for an original license for a hydrokinetic pilot project proposed for state waters offshore Eastport, Maine. Phase one of the project will include the installation of one 1-megawatt hydrokinetic device located in Cobscook Bay. Phase two of the project includes installing four additional 1-megawatt hydrokinetic devices in Western Passage. The Notice of Intent and additional pre-filing materials were filed July 24, 2009, and comments on the pre-filing materials are due by September 8, 2009.
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Today DOE unveiled a new online database of hydrodynamic test facilities in the US to allow researchers to more easily locate test-phase hydrodynamic and hydrokinetic energy projects. You can access the database here.
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National Public Radio provides coverage of the effects of Massachusetts’s ocean resource zoning efforts, including effects on the existing LNG deepwater ports located offshore Boston.
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The US Extended Continental Shelf Task Force, comprised of several agencies including the NOAA, State Department, Department of Energy, and Environmental Protection Agency, is partnering with Canadian agencies to survey the Arctic continental shelf on a 41-day mission that began August 7. The goal of the project is to define the outer limits of the U.S. and Canadian continental shelf, in part to delineate control over mineral resources on the shelf and the rights to construct structures such as wind farm and pipelines.
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Today, FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff testified before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) to address climate change legislation as it pertains to the energy sector. Chairman Wellinghoff used the opportunity to express FERC's support for the development of hydrokinetic energy technologies. As evidence, the Chairman referenced FERC's policy of allowing some hydrokinetic technologies to be tested without a license and others to receive expedited licenses under a "pilot license" process. In addition, the Chairman pointed to FERC's Memorandum of Understanding with MMS clarifying jurisdiction over hydrokinetic projects on the OCS, as well as independent agreements on project development with Washington and Oregon states, as measures FERC has adopted to advance hydrokinetic projects.
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This week MMS released a set of guidelines designed to clarify the Renewable Energy and Alternative Use framework (REAU) issued by the agency in April of this year. This issuance contains the first six of eleven planned sections of guidelines and provides detailed information regarding the history and goals of REAU, eligibility requirements for participants in the program, OCS maps and descriptions, renewable energy lease and grant conveyance processes, program administration details, and payments.
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Yesterday, freshman Alaska Senator Mark Begich (D) called for ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty and introduced a package of seven bills addressing a variety of Arctic policy issues. The energy and shipping related measures in the package include: Arctic OCS Revenue Sharing Act (S. 1560) - gives Alaska natives the same 37.5% share of royalties from offshore oil and gas production in federal waters that Gulf of Mexico states currently receive. This is similar to the measure introduced by senior Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) last week. Arctic Climate Change Adaptation Act (S. 1566) - provides funding for Alaskans to adapt to the impacts of climate change, including clean energy development. Arctic Ambassador Act (S. 1563) - creates a new U.S. Ambassador to the Arctic Council. Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment Implementation Act (S. 1564) - provides funding to replace the U.S. icebreaker fleet and build new forward operating Coast Guard air bases, as well as other measures to ensure safe and reliable maritime transportation in the Arctic region. Arctic Oil Spill Research and Recovery Act (S. 1561) - calls for more research to improve oil spill prevention and response in the Arctic. Arctic Science, Coordination and Integration Act (S. 1562) - requires a new study to create a comprehensive strategy to coordinate Arctic research and make recommendations to Congress. The bills are available through Thomas. You can view Sen. Begich's press release here.
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Today, FERC and MMS issued joint Guidance to further clarify their respective roles in the application and development of hydrokinetic energy projects on the OCS. MMS has jurisdiction to issue leases to these projects and FERC has jurisdiction to issue licenses for these same projects. This Guidance is part of an ongoing effort to clarify each agency's authority and simplify the process for applicants and project developers. This process began in April when DOI and FERC issued a Memorandum of Understanding delineating each agency's responsibilities.
The Guidance follows a "frequently asked questions" (FAQs) format designed to facilitate the process of developing hydrokinetic projects on the OCS. The FAQs are divided into categories, including: general requirements and definitions; provisions for obtaining a lease and license; municipalities and competition; lease and license terms; financial assurance requirements; fee structures; hybrid project considerations; straddle projects; and contact information. Each FAQ provides step-by-step instructions explaining which agency's regulations should be followed throughout the project development process.
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