Time For Marine Renewable Energy Funding

It’s time to write and call your elected representatives. Remember that e-mail, fax and phone are the three quickest ways to get your message across.

The below letter to your Member of Congress and Senators requests funding for Marine Renewables R&D. If you have any questions or need further information related to this letter or lobbying your elected Federal representatives, please call or e-mail any member of the OREC team.

Write and call your Senators and Representatives today!   The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act authorized R&D programs for ocean renewable energy…now we need funding appropriated to get those programs funded above the President’s budget request of only $40 million. OREC has asked for $100 million in fiscal year 2011 to fund Department of Energy research and development and demonstration programs. These are critically needed funds for a young industry on the verge of becoming part of a reliable, affordable, clean energy mix.

Please support increased funding for ocean renewables!

Call and write your delegation. Ask them to support funding for ocean renewable technologies in the FY11  Energy and Water Appropriations bills.

Sincerely,

Your Ocean Renewable Team

Sean O’Neill (301) 325-5099                          soneill@symmetrix.biz

Carolyn Elefant (202) 297-6100                    loce@his.com

Damian Kunko (202) 467-5459 x229            damian@strategicmi.com

Scott Lindsay (360) 944-6654                        Scott@SMLConsulting.net

Read more

Matt R. Simmons to Address GMREC III during Thursday, April 15th Luncheon

Matthew R. Simmons is Chairman Emeritus of Simmons & Company International, a specialized energy investment banking firm.  The firm has completed approximately 770 investment banking projects for its worldwide energy clients at a combined dollar value in excess of $140 billion.

Mr. Simmons was raised in Kaysville, Utah.  He graduated cum laude from the University of Utah and received an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School.  He served on the faculty of Harvard Business School as a Research Associate for two years and was a Doctoral Candidate.

Mr. Simmons began a small investment bank/advisory firm in Boston.  Among his early clients were several subsea service companies.  By 1973, almost all of his clients were oil service companies.  Following the 1973 Oil Shock, Simmons decided to create a Houston-based firm to concentrate on providing highest quality investment banking advice to the worldwide oil service industry.  Over time, the specialization expanded into investment banking covering all aspects of the global energy industry.

SCI’s offices are located in Houston, Texas; London, England; Boston, Massachusetts; Aberdeen, Scotland and Dubai, UAE.

In 2007, Mr. Simmons founded The Ocean Energy Institute in Mid-Coast Maine.  The Institute’s focus is to research and create renewable energy sources from all aspects of our oceans.

Simmons serves on the Board of Directors of Houston Technology Center (Houston) and the Center for Houston’s Future (Houston).  He also serves on The University of Texas’ M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Foundation Board of Visitors (Houston) and is a Trustee of the Bermuda Institute for Ocean Sciences.  In addition, he is past Chairman of the National Ocean Industry Association.  Mr. Simmons is a past President of the Harvard Business School Alumni Association and a former member of the Visiting Committee of Harvard Business School.  He is a member of the National Petroleum Council, Council on Foreign Relations and The Atlantic Council of the United States.  Mr. Simmons is a Trustee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, The Island Institute and Farnsworth Art Museum in Maine.

Mr. Simmons’ recently published book Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy has been listed on the Wall Street Journal’s best-seller list.  He has also published numerous energy papers for industry journals and is a frequent speaker at government forums, energy symposiums and in boardrooms of many leading energy companies around the world.

Mr. Simmons is married and has five daughters.  His hobbies include watercolors, cooking, writing and travel.

Global Marine Renewable Energy Conference Checklist:

Register today

Book hotel room — room blocks with negotiated rates will be released starting March 12, 2010

Sign up for Garrad Hassan Classes on Wave and Tidal Technologies.

Sign up for Professional Development Day

Sign up for Significant Other Track

Visit the website and see new panelists, exciting new developments, and outstanding price/performance

New developments are happening daily….. Check the website often. www.globalmarinerenewable.com

3rd Annual Global Marine Renewable Energy Conference

The 3rd Annual Global Marine Renewable Energy Conference will be held April 14th and 15th, 2010 at the Bell Harbor International Convention Center, Seattle, Washington.

For more information visit the Global Marine Renewable Energy Conference website by clicking here.

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

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.

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