OREC Comments in Response to Pres. Obama’s Ocean Management Task Force

On September 10, 2009, the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition filed comments on a framework for ocean policy coordination and marine spatial planning in response to President Obama’s Ocean Management Task Force.  Comments can be viewed here . OREC continues to participate in Task Force meetings and offer our input on proposed ocean management initiatives based on our members’ experience.

MREC 1st Annual Technical Conference

New England Marine Renewable Energy Center hosts

MREC 1^st Annual Technical Conference

October 15, 2009

Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Center

Fall River, MA, USA

Come and hear about the latest advances in marine renewable energy and enjoy the fall colors of New England.

Sessions will address research and technology development in the following areas:

• Ocean Wave Energy Conversion Devices
• Tidal In Stream Conversion Devices
• Offshore Wind Generation Systems and Platform Design

Click Here for Complete Information.

2nd Annual Ocean Energy for New England Conference

New England Marine Renewable Energy Center hosts

2^nd Annual Ocean Energy for New England Conference

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Cape Codder Resort

1225 Iyannough Rd.

Hyannis, MA 02601

8AM - 1:30 PM

Click here for Complete Information.

Check www.mrec.umassd.edu for updates and registration.

Guidelines for MMS Renewable Energy Framework

MMS has just posted guidelines that provide details of the types of information required in making application for interim and commercial leases on the OCS and also for implementation of the MOU between MMS and FERC.

From the issuance:
These guidelines will evolve and will be revised and updated as necessary as we implement the OCS renewable energy program.  Also, as we gain experience with renewable energy development on the OCS, we may update our regulations to include energy-resource-specific provisions.  These guidelines do not change the letter or intent of the REAU regulations.

You can view the regulations here -REN Guidebook August 2009

Take a Tour of the OREC Website

Take a guided tour of the OREC website by watching the above video.

Stimulus

Stimulus/Grants Resources

Recovery.gov White House page tracking ARRA and stimulus funds

ARRA information with links to Energy Provisions (Wikipedia)

American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, aka “Stimulus Bill” (final 2/09)

SMI/Helios Summary

Treasury Guidance Document

Energy Terms & Conditions

Sample Application

Treasury Website for Grants in Lieu of Tax Credit Program

Stimulus Program for Renewable Energy Projects Up and Running

As you may recall, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Stimulus Bill), described in this earlier post included a variety of benefits for marine renewables developers, including the option to elect between tax credits (either a production tax credit or investment tax credit) and a cash grant.  The Department of Energy and Treasury have now announced that the program is up and running, and that applications will be accepted.

The program is for renewable energy projects that are under construction or that will soon be built. Specifically, Section 1603 of the Act’s tax title, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act, appropriates funds for payments to persons who place in service specified energy property during 2009 or 2010 or after 2010 if construction began on the property during 2009 or 2010 and the property is placed in service by a certain date known as the credit termination date.  The program will therefore potentially benefit those marine renewables projects where construction will begin between 2009 and 2010 and be completed by 2014, the applicable credit termination date for marine renewables.

For further guidance about the program, please review the following resources at our new Stimulus/Grants Resource Page.

President Obama Announces Ocean Task Force

On June 12, 2009, President Obama announced the formation of an Oceans Task Force, comprised of heads of various federal agencies, to develop a national policy on oceans that “ensures the protection, maintenance, and restoration of the health of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems and resources, enhances the sustainability of ocean and coastal economies, preserves our maritime heritage, provides for adaptive management to enhance our understanding of and capacity to respond to climate change, and is coordinated with our national security and foreign policy interests.”

Additional information about the task force is available here.

Interestingly, the proposed policy endorses use of adaptive management, a strategy which OREC has long endorsed.  Funding for an adaptive management fund is included in the Senate version of the energy bill, described in further detail in the New York Times.

OREC Welcomes Two Summer Staffers

OREC is pleased to announce that we have two staffers on board for the summer - Alex Smith and Anthony Moliterno, who are students at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey and participants in the Washington Internship Institute Program.  We’ll be keeping our staffers busy with all of the Hill and regulatory matters that will be ongoing this summer.  However, if any OREC members are in need of assistance here in Washington where our staffers might be able to help out, please contact us.

In addition to these staffers, we are also supporting a student fellow through the Sea Grant Project under the supervision of Megan Higgins at Roger Williams University Law School’s Marine Affairs program.  Our research fellow is exploring the viability of using MOUs (memorandum of understanding) to coordinate and expedite the FERC or MMS regulatory process.  The final work product will be available in early September.

OREC Summary of MMS Regulatory Framework

As you know from our earlier post, the MMS regulations for leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf which issued back in April will take effect on June 22, 2009.  In anticipation of the regulation effective date, MMS is conducting a series of workshops to describe this new Regulatory Framework and to respond to questions.  For more information about the workshops, visit the MMS Press Release here.

Last week, MMS kicked off its workshop series with a program at Department of Interior in Washington D.C.   OREC’s two summer staffers, Alex Smith and Anthony Moliterno, attended the hearing and prepared this summary which has been uploaded.  The summary describes the key features of the proposed regulation and also reports on the questions raised by other meeting participants. You can also view the MMS Power Point presented at the workshops here.

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