The Washington-based Grays Harbor Ocean Energy Company has applied for a permit to construct an alternative energy facility on Penguin Bank, southwest of the island of Molokai.
The Penguin Bank project description is here.
The Company's objective is published as:
Our power project objective to generate up to 100 MW of wave power in a site that is 12 to 25 miles offshore on the Outer Continental Shelf.
The Project will have 100 offshore fixed three-leg platforms standing on the sea bed and raised about 50 feet above sea level. Wave Energy Converters will be built into each leg, for a total of 300 WECs. They are currently rated at 350kW power, and will generate up to 100 MW hydrokinetic power at peak, typically during winter months, and about 40 MW power on average. The seasonality of power generation matches well to the winter power demand.
What about Cape Wind? That project's Draft Environmental Impact Statement here. Some of the controversy of the Cape Wind project is discussed here. Visual sitings of Cape Wind project are available.
Jan from Raising Islands had a good post here.
The two federal agencies currently exercising regulatory authority over offshore (>3 nautical miles from shoreline) are the Minerals Management Service (MMS) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The latter recently issued a decision declaring its jurisdiction over these projects offshore, here. Side note: the MMS actually participated as a litigant in this decision, the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel probably needs to chime in, lest two federal agencies take contrary positions with the regulated public. This is a good post on the subject: http://www.carolynelefant1.typepad.com/renewablesoffshore/2008/11/the-ferc-mms-scuffle-continues.html
Most have not heard of these two federal agencies. Per its website, MMS authority in this area:
Section 388 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) amended the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to grant the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior (Secretary) discretionary authority to issue leases, easements, or rights-of-way for activities on the Outer Continental Shelf that produce or support production, transportation, or transmission of energy from sources other than oil and gas. The Secretary delegated this authority to the Minerals Management Service, which has extensive experience in oil, gas and marine minerals (sand and gravel) offshore leasing. Examples of potential alternative energy projects include, but are not limited to: wind energy, wave energy, ocean current energy, solar energy, and hydrogen production.
Under this new authority, the MMS also may issue leases, easements, or rights-of-way for other OCS project activities that make alternate use of existing OCS facilities for "energy-related purposes or for other authorized marine-related purposes," such as: offshore aquaculture, research, education, recreation, and support for offshore operations and facilities.
For the Cape Wind project, these are the other federal agencies with interests and regulatory oversight over parts of project.
Thanks for the link -- I think that DOJ has tried to mediate the dispute but without success. And it can't be resolved by Executive Order either since FERC is an independent agency and is not bound to abide by an Executive Order (the EO approach would thus be awkward for both agencies). To be honest, it's a very difficult question with lots of policy issues such as whether the wave energy industry will develop more quickly with FERC involved or whether having 2 agencies regulated as opposed to one will create more problems in the long run. Given the broad policy issues, it may be time for Congress to revisit this issue again.
Posted by: Carolyn Elefant | January 05, 2009 at 08:58 AM