In the News

OREC Press Clippings:

(June 9, 2009) Renewed Energy: Wave Energy Taken Aback By Alternatives, Wall Street Journal

Carolyn Elefant quoted in the Wall Street Journal

(May 20, 2009) Wave Power Development Hits Some Rocks, New York Times

Sean O’Neill is quoted in the New York Times:
“The Pelamis/Babcock relationship is an excellent analogy for where we are as an industry,” said Sean O’Neill, the president of the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition, in an e-mail message. “Most companies are in the demonstration/pilot phase, so we’ll be seeing some fits and starts.”

(March 17, 2009) Surf Battle Generates Fear of Ocean Squatting, New York Times

“…Carolyn Elefant, counsel to OREC was quoted as saying:
Preliminary permits are easy to get, and that can lead to “a lot of gamesmanship” in areas known to have good energy prospects, said Carolyn Elefant, a lawyer with the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition.
“There are a lot of people who have these visions of flipping sites, selling sites, jumping claims and making people buy them off,” she said. “It’s the Wild West.”

(March 17, 2009) Agencies End Feud on Offshore Projects, New York Times

“…Sean O’Neill of the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition also praised the agreement. The group prefers a memorandum of understanding over a legislative resolution, saying it would allow for better flexibility.”

(December 29, 2008) Wind, Wave Power Play, Boston Globe
“Carolyn Elefant, a lawyer based in Washington, D.C. who has advised ocean renewable energy developers for 15 years, says that in order to construct a wave farm, Grays Harbor Ocean Energy Company would also need to secure a lease from the Minerals Management Service. Elefant said the regulatory process remains unclear in a way that gives companies the ability to “game” the system by potentially staking a claim to certain waters through one federal process that may be quicker and then selling those rights to another developer.”

(December 12, 2008)

State: Wind still has wings ;Providence Business News; , Ted Nesi

“To be honest, my first thought when I saw this was, what took somebody so long to do that?” said Carolyn Elefant, counsel to the Ocean Renewable Energy Council, a trade group that lobbies for the industry in Washington, D.C. “It was an inevitable product of the overlap between MMS and FERC jurisdiction, and this is the kind of thing we’re going to see more of,” she said. Elefant and other observers expect the Obama administration or Congress to resolve the issue next year.

(December 9, 2008)

Wave Power put to the test in Monterey Bay Kurtis Alexander San Jose Mercury News

Carolyn Elefant – “It’s still a very open market,” said Carolyn Elefant with the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition, the young industry’s even younger trade group. “Even companies that are on the leading edge now and currently feeding power to the grid, we don’t know in 10 or 15 years if they’re going to be the winners in this race.”

(October 20, 2008)

Offshore Wind May Power the Future, by Emily Waltz, Scientific American

Sean O’Neill – Some groups say the rules leave too many barriers for developers to overcome. “Are these waters really open?” asks Sean O’Neill, founder of the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition. O’Neill says the leases may be prohibitively expensive and the environmental review process too extensive.

(October 6, 2008)

Everybody Into the Ocean, WSJ
Discussion of projects by OREC members Ocean Power Technologies and Verdant Power; Sean O’Neill quoted:
“In a perfect world, the U.S. will have a fast way to deal with new emerging technologies that allow companies to get into the water and start testing how efficient the equipment is and to measure the environmental impacts,” says Mr. O’Neill. “But that is just a dream.”

(September 30, 2008)

DOE announces first marine renewable energy grants Washington D.C., Utility Automation and Engineering,
Sean O’Neill – “”This is the first time since 1992 that U.S. DOE has received appropriations from Congress for a marine renewable energy program,” said Sean O’Neill, president of the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition.”

(August 23, 2007)

Mediafly.com, Podcast Inside Renewable Energy- 
Sean O’Neill discusses ocean renewable developments on Capitol Hill