Environmental Law

Offshore Energy Research Projects Could Get Green Light Soon

By Dennis Pfaff and Kevin Livingston, Editors

The power of the ocean likely will draw millions of people to the beaches this Memorial Day weekend and beyond, some of them perhaps thinking of power in a literal sense. Those would be the folks interested in the potential development of the marine environment as an energy source and they may soon see some new action from the federal government.

Research aimed at helping to develop wave- and wind-power projects could begin moving ahead in the near future, with the completion of a public comment period next month on plans floated by the U.S. Interior Department to designate five areas along the East and West coasts for research and testing new technology. The proposals given priority by the Minerals Management Service, Interior's agency overseeing offshore mineral and petroleum projects, were outlined in a Federal Register notice in April. An accompanying press release from the agency also provided instructions on how to submit comments, which are due by June 17, according to an article published by the U.S. Department of Energy. 

The agency's director, Randall Luthi, addressed the significance of the development, according to the statement:

“This is a major step forward in expanding our nation’s energy portfolio. The information gained from research in these areas will greatly increase our understanding of the vast renewable energy potential just off our coast.”

Developing offshore wind facilities has caused considerable controversy over the years, including a project planned for the Great Lakes, as well as another in the Nantucket Sound region of the Eastern United States. Ocean-based projects have also encountered significant skepticism from industry in Europe.

Nevertheless, the vast ocean undeniably exerts an attraction on those who see it as a major new source of renewable energy for a warming world.  

Environmental groups generally have been supportive of the notion of developing marine projects, according to the Miami Herald, one of the few publications that has picked up on this aspect of the federal government's move toward energy from the sea. The newspaper in a story last year (subscription reqd.), cited comments from the Sierra Club's Josh Dorner on the subject:

"We wouldn't give blanket approval for these things but the bar would have to be high for us to reject it. There's a lot of wind offshore. Finding ways to tap that would be excellent."

And apparently there has been an enthusiastic response to the initial inquiries made by the minerals service in a 2007 Federal Register notice. Of the 40 or so proposals that came in, the agency put 16 at the top of the list. Those would be spread among the five offshore areas the service designated off the coasts of New Jersey, Delaware, Georgia, Florida and California.  

According to the agency, temporary leases are planned for the areas that would allow data collection and testing of technologies related to developing energy from wind, waves and ocean currents. There would be no commercial energy production activity associated with the leases, located in generally nine-square-mile blocks on the outer continental shelf.

Two proposed projects off of Northern California would have to do with wave energy, while ten wind-related projects are proposed for the offshore areas of New Jersey, Delaware and Georgia. Finally, four proposals off Florida would be associated with ocean current energy.

The agency cited various reasons for giving priority to the projects. For instance, the Northern California proposals, off of the Humboldt and Mendocino County coasts, to gather ocean wave data and test related technology, were nominated in connection with projects proposed by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. The Georgia location, according to the Federal Register notice, was selected because of research being conducted by the Southern Company and Georgia Institute of Technology Strategic Energy Institute.

 (Photo of wind farm off the Irish coast: Department of Energy/National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Credit: Robert Thresher) 

Full post as published by Climate Law Update on May 23, 2008 (boomark / email).