Secretary Salazar Holds Press Conference

Last week, Department of Interior Secretary Salazar held a press conference to discuss, among other things, the Mineral Management Service’s plans for management of the Outer Continental Shelf.  Earth2tech.com has a good summary here.

Salazar stated that he is committed to issuing the long awaited rules for authorizing alternative energy projects on the Outer Continental Shelf and expects new rules to issue “in the coming months.”  As OREC members are aware, OREC participated extensively in the rulemaking process since February 2006, filing lengthy comments on various MMS initiatives (see OREC Policy Statements here ).  Presumably, the new regulations will resolve the ongoing jurisdictional dispute between MMS and FERC.

NOTICE TO MEMBERS

Events in Washington D.C. are changing at a rapid pace, and OREC is striving to keep our members up to date on these events.  At the same time, we recognize that our members are busy and may not have time to keep abreast of frequent emails.  For that reason, we have chosen to make use of our website as a primary contact point for updates on how OREC is serving our members.  Please subscribe to the website’s feed, or sign up to receive updates by email.  The benefit of web-based email is that you will always have access to key documents here at the site.

If you have any questions about the website or receiving email subscriptions, please contact Carolyn Elefant at carolynelefant@fercfights.com.

$40 Million for Water Power in FY09 Omnibus Act

The FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act has been released (click here to view) and there’s more good news for marine renewables.  Appropriations for FY09 include $40 million for the Department of Energy’s water power program, a substantial increase over the $10 million that OREC was instrumental in securing for 2008.  OREC has been working to ensure inclusion of increased funding for water power since last year.

OREC Announces Job Board

OREC is pleased to announce that we’ve added a job board to our website. You can find the link on the home page directly beneath the ‘Home’ button or follow the link here.

If you’re looking for a position in the marine renewables field or hoping to hire, please send us your announcement.  At this time, there’s no charge to post.  Send job posts to Tina Hilton at tmariehilton@clericaladvantage.net .

Early Bird Registration Extended

We’ve extended the Early Bird Registration one more week–
Early Bird is now available until February 23, 2009!

To see interviews from last year’s conference visit
http://www.foroceanenergy.org and see the sidebar at the website.

We have 8 countries represented, so far, and more than twice as many registrants than
we had at this point last year.

Seating is limited so sign up today!

Also, rooms for the negotiated price at participating hotels are being released back into full retail pricing.
You can still take advantage of the discounted rate by making your room reservations soon.
April in Washington is a busy month and hotel rooms are scarce and expensive.

Register for the conference and book your hotel this week!

Stimulus Bill Promises to Buoy Marine Renewables Industry

On Tuesday, February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, or as it is commonly called, the “stimulus package.”  The legislation contains a combination of tax cuts and funding programs that bring unprecedented support to the marine renewables industry.

Despite the legislation’s fast track, OREC managed to ensure parity for marine renewables.  In particular, OREC is proud of the legislation’s inclusion of a choice between an investment tax credit (ITC) and production tax credit (PTC), as this is an option that we’ve been pressing since early 2007.
Read more

Marine Renewables Round-Up

Here’s a wave and tidal news round up for the first part of February 2009.  If you have any news to share, please send it our way.

The Commission approved orders authorizing two innovative transmission projects that will carry power from wind farms in the Northern Rocky Mountains to the Las Vegas area.   For more details on the order click here.

The orders reflect the Commission’s willingness to act flexibly in encouraging merchant transmission solutions for renewables.  Could the policy eventually apply to merchant transmission offshore to carry marine renewables onshore.

Click here to see what Commissioner Wellinghoff had to say about the FERC order.

New York Times reports here on Google’s progress in mapping the oceans.  Can marine renewables developers make use of this new information…stay tuned.

Can oil rigs be transformed into eco friendly , marine-renewable powered resorts?  Take a  look here to find that the future is now.

Massachusetts company seeks preliminary permit for tidal site off Cape Cod.  For more details, read here.

Developing standards  the marine renewables industry is necessary to help the technology take off, according to this.

Can every offshore wind project capture wave energy?  To read more about the possibilities, click here.

OREC Job Board

Jobs:

Latest Job Postings

Senior Project Leader- Ocean Renewables [Click Here for Complete Information]

Job/Research Summary

This position is for a senior level project leader to assist NREL management in establishing, conducting, and reporting on the newly emerging hydrokinetic technologies projects for wave, tidal and in-stream energy conversion, as well as Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC). The ideal candidate will become NREL’s primary point-of-contact for Marine Renewable activities and the senior technical leader for DOE sponsored project work. The position will advise management on feasibility of new laboratory project directions involving marine renewable energy and interface directly with DOE program managers to carry out the laboratory mission. The position requires National and international recognition in Marine renewable energy with demonstrated skills and advanced knowledge of marine renewable energy technologies.