LIPA to build a wind park off Jones Beach

    The Long Island Power Authority is currently in the planning and promoting stages of building one of the first wind energy parks in the United States. The wind park will be built off the coast of JonesBeach. Mineral Management Service still has to review the LIPA plan and assess it thoroughly, but LIPA chairman Richard Kessel has already begun to discuss the project with stakeholders in and around Long Island.

  MMS has to evaluate whether LIPA can build their wind park off the coast of Jones Beach and whether other states will have to be consulted throughout construction.  Kessel will release information about the cost of construction at a later date.

Read more

MMS Begins Scoping on Alternate Energy on OCS

MMS launched the first set of its scoping sessions on alternate energy uses on the Outer Continental Shelf, with a session in Washington D.C. last Thursday, May 18, 2006 and a session last evening, May 23, 2006 in Trenton, New Jersey.  To follow the scoping sessions, view transcripts from the sessions and keep up to date on progress, visit MMS Website on OCS.  And be sure to check back at the OREC website for more information.

OREC Supports Existing Procedures for Cape Wind

The Senate has started its debate over legislation to give Governor Mitt Romney the power to veto the the proposed Cape Wind offshore wind project, which would be located in Nantucket Shoals off the coast of Massachusetts.  A Boston Globe story on the current status of the bill is available here.

OREC opposed the original version of the Young Amendment that prohibited construction of wind farms closer than 1.5 miles from shipping lanes.  As described here, that amendment would have precluded development of many viable offshore wind farms and also, could eventually have been expanded to bar wave and tidal projects as well.  The present Young/Stevens amendment is narrower, giving the Massachusetts governor the power to veto one project:  Cape Wind.

OREC opposes this "poison pill" legislation. The bill sets a dangerous precedent for Congress to kill any offshore wind, wave or tidal project that has invested millions of dollars in navigating the regulatory process and injects yet another level of uncertainty into our nation’s fledgling offshore industry.  If offshore wind and wave are to succeed in the United States, our projects must "sink or swim" on the merits, not politics.

For additional information, read OREC CEO Carolyn Elefant’s  Letter to the Editor on the Cape Wind Project.

Calling All Offshore Renewable Developers: MMS To Scope the OCS

On Friday, May 5, 2006, the Mineral Management Service issued this Notice of Intent

(PDF format) to prepare a programmatic EIS for the National Offshore Alternate Energy Related Uses (AERU) Program
and Rule.  From the Notice:

The NOI also serves toannounce the scoping process for this programmatic EIS. Throughout the scoping process, Federal, State, and local government agencies, and other interested parties have the opportunity to advise MMS in determining the significant issues, alternatives, and mitigation measures to be considered for analysis in the programmatic EIS. The programmatic EIS analysis will focus on the potential environmental effects of implementing the AERU.

According to the Notice, several public hearings have been scheduled for locations across the country, kicking off on May 18, 2006 in Herndon, Virginia.  OREC representatives plan to participate in as many of this hearings as is feasible and we urge our members and other offshore renewable developers and supporters to turn out for these meetings.  State tuned to the OREC website and mailing list, as we will be providing additional information on our efforts in the upcoming days. 

OREC Featured on Renewable Energy Podcast

OREC President Sean O’Neill and CEO Carolyn Elefant were featured on Renewable Energy Access‘ Podcast series.   Here’s the clip of the program description:

Ocean energy has not received the attention it deserves, from governmental agencies and the general public, say Sean O’Neill and Carolyn Elefant of the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition. The reasons are lack of understanding, an overly complicated approach to site approval and misguided opposition from some environmental groups. Through their organization, O’Neill and Elefant are determined to overcome these obstacles and help spawn a commercial-scale ocean energy industry in the U.S.

To listen to the podcast, click here.