OREC Testifies in Senate Subcommittee Hearing

Carolyn Elefant stresses importance of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

November 4, 2009-Carolyn Elefant, counsel for The Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition (OREC), today testified in front of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation’s Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coastguard.  Elefant’s testimony, delivered to Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-WA), stressed the importance of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as she discussed the role for renewable energy in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes stewardship, as well as the development of the United States’ national ocean policy, and the development of a framework for coastal and marine spatial planning.  Today’s Subcommittee hearing served to update the Senate on progress President Obama’s Ocean Policy Task Force is making to develop a recommendation for a national policy that ensures protection, maintenance, and restoration of oceans, our coasts and the Great Lakes.

“Over the past five years, our industry has gained momentum with respect to technology advancements and an influx of federal and state funding.  Stalling deployment of marine renewables at this critical juncture could devastate the industry and drive it overseas,” Elefant said when urging the Committee to establish a single agency to oversee and develop policy for offshore renewables technology.

Additional panel members who delivered testimony included Nancy Sutley, Chair at the Council on Environmental Quality; Jane Lubchenco, Administrator of NOAA and Undersecretary of Commerce; Adm. Thad Allen, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard; Laura Davis, Associate Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of the Interior; Billy Frank Jr., Chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission; Dennis Takashi-Kelso, Executive Vice President of The Ocean Conservancy; and Matthew Paxton, Government Relations Counsel for the Coastal Conservation Association.

As the Committee carries forward its mission to explore the agency best suited to spearhead and implement ocean policy following President Obama’s charge to the Ocean Policy Task Force, OREC will continue to represent the best interests for our marine environment, and will continue to be a leading voice of support for NOAA and additional investment in marine renewables technology.

View the complete Testimony on Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning 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.

Take a Tour of the OREC Website

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

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.

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.

IEA-OES Annual Report 2008 (Released 2009)

We’ve just uploaded the IES-OEA Annual Report for 2008.  It’s 108 pages and describes the IEA’s plans for ocean renewables for the coming year, as well as reports on the current state of various technologies.  Very comprehensive and useful resource.
You can also find this report on our Resources Page filed under Marine Energy Reports-International.

New OREC Blog Feature - Posts by Audio

We know how busy all of our OREC members and site visitors are so we’ve introduced a new feature that allows you to listen to our blog posts.  Just click on the “listen now” link at the top of each post as the OREC Blog and you’ll hear the audio of the post.  So now you can catch up on what’s new at OREC while working on other matters.  Please let us know whether you enjoy this feature.

Marine Renewables News Round-Up

Here’s a quick round up of some recent developments and interesting news items from the past two weeks:

The Scottish Saltire Prize - the largest single innovation prize for marine renewables -  which I posted about a year ago continues to attract international attention.   According to this story, 100 entities from 23 different countries worldwide have submitted entries to compete for the $20 million (USD) prize.

A new study will evaluate the potential for wave, tidal-stream and tidal technologies around the English and Welsh coastlines, says this Press Release.  In the meantime, there’s some disagreement over when marine renewables technologies will achieve full blown commercialization.  According to the Irish Times, a recently published report forecast that “wave energy would not develop in Ireland for at least a decade,” though these findings were disputed by  John McCarthy, Chief Executive of Ocean Energy, LTD.  Martin McAdam, CEO of Aquamarine Power is equally optimistic, telling Reuters that “What we feel is we can offer a device in future that will be competitive with offshore wind energy. By 2014 we will have a commercially available device.”

There’s progress in the U.S. as well.  Mike Rafterty of Stevens Institute in New Jersey reports progress on the Wave Energy Harnessing Device (WEHD), a system of submerged platforms and buoys will utilize a wave’s motion to create electricity.  And over in Maine, a collaboration between the University of Maine, Maine Maritime Academy and Portland-based Ocean Renewable Power Co. has landed nearly $1 million in grant money from the federal government to research and develop tidal power according to this Release.

Finally, an April 30, 2009 article by industry thought leaders Roger Bedard, Mirko Previsic and Brian Polagye, up at Renewable Energy Access gives a good overview on how much marine energy is available for development in the United States.

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