Eighty-Eight House Republicans last week sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, voicing displeasure with the Secretary's recent decision to discard the 2010-2015 OCS lease plan and instead implement the next Five-Year Plan starting in 2012.  The House Republicans are characterizing this two year delay in issuing a new plan the "Obama Moratorium," and assert that it directly conflicts with American public opinion, which favors offshore drilling.  
 
Meanwhile, a number of Senate Democrats from coastal and Great Lakes states earlier this week delivered a letter to Sens. John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsay Graham (R-SC) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT), arguing that pending climate change legislation should not be accompanied by measures that would grant "unfettered access" of the OCS to oil and gas interests.  Citing environmental concerns over oil spills and  potential turf conflicts between E&P operations and the Department of Defense's training zones, the letter goes on to argue against a proposal that revenues from the new OCS leases be shared with the impacted coastal states, and that any opening up of the OCS for drilling should be accompanied by a reform of the leasing process.

A DOE source told Energy Washington (subscription required) that the agency plans to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the MMS in the next two months to begin developing a streamlined permitting process for hydrokinetic power projects, including those on the OCS.  DOE reports that the MOU will broadly cover offshore renewable energy and outline a framework for collaborating on environmental assessments and streamlining the permitting process.  In addition, DOE plans to organize a series of meetings with the FERC, NOAA, the Department of Defense, and other federal agencies.  Reports of the DOE/MMS MOU follow on the heels of the House Committee on Science and Technology hearing on hydrokinetic energy earlier this month.

The U.S. Navy is in the early stages of developing a tidal energy project to produce electricity for its base at Indian Island, Washington. Pending funding for the $2 million project, the plan is to start a one-year pilot program next fall with six submerged turbines. If successful, tidal energy may be used to assist the Defense Department in meeting the National Defense Act of 2007 mandate to obtain 25% of its energy from renewable sources by 2025. The Associated Press (via The Oregonian) provides more details.