Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force Issues Final Recommendations
On Monday, July 19, 2010, the White House Council on Environmental Quality ("CEQ") issued the Final Recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force. The Final Recommendations are the culmination of a process that began on June 12, 2009 when President Obama formed the Task Force and tasked it with developing recommendations to enhance national stewardship of the ocean, coasts, and the Great Lakes and promote the long-term conservation of those resources.
The Final Recommendations will likely be carried over into an Executive Order to be signed by the President, which will establish a National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, Coasts, and Great Lakes and create a National Ocean Council to enhance ocean governance and coordination between federal and state agencies. The Final Recommendations also express the Task Force's unanimous agreement that the United States should acceed to the Convention on the Law of the Sea and ratify its 1994 Implementing Agreement.
The CEQ's press release is available here. Attorneys at Stoel Rives are reviewing the Final Recommendations and assessing their impact on, among other things, offshore renewable energy development including offshore wind and marine and hydrokinetic projects. Stay tuned for more on this important development.
DOI/DOE MOU for Offshore Renewable Energy Projects
Yesterday, the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) and the Department of Energy (“DOE”) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) to bring together resources and expertise from both agencies as the US develops commercial-scale offshore wind and water energy projects on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.
The wind and water resources off the US’ coastline are vast yet largely untapped energy potential. According to DOE's “20% Wind Energy by 2030” report, offshore wind alone has the potential to produce 54,000 megawatts by 2030. The MOU allows for priority leasing and more efficient regulatory processes (including permitting) for sites with high, commercial-scale offshore wind and water power development potential.
Maryland Jumps Into Offshore Wind
The Maryland Energy Administration has issued a Request for Expression of Information and Interest to gather information from industry representatives on the potential for offshore wind development in the state. The MEA is also simultaneously initiating a study to evaluate opportunities for offshore wind energy on the Maryland coast (state waters) and the Outer Continental Shelf (federal waters). This study will "assess the viability of offshore wind energy generation and build on important marine spatial planning work being currently developed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and The Nature Conservancy."
Under Maryland's Renewable Portfolio Standard, at least 20 percent of the retail sales of electricity in the state must come from renewable resources by 2022. Responses to the REII are due by January 31, 2010. Prospective developers interested in participating in the strategy process must submit a response to the MEA by February 28, 2010.
Interior Issues Limited Leases for Offshore Wind Projects
On June 23, 2009, the Minerals Management Service, a division within the U.S. Department of Interior, issued five limited leases to offshore wind energy developers for wind data collection on the Outer Continental Shelf. These leases will allow for the construction of meteorological towers to collect site-specific data on wind speed, intensity, and direction. The data collected under these leases will be shared with the MMS, and "used to inform and support future commercial renewable energy projects, such as wind turbine farms, to help coastal States meet mandated renewable energy portfolio standards."
The leases were issued to Deepwater Wind (two locations off the coast of New Jersey), Bluewater Wind (one location off New Jersey, one location off Delaware), and Fishermen's Energy (one location off New Jersey).
Client Alert: Summary of Final MMS Regulations on OCS Leasing
As promised in a recent blog entry, we've issued a client alert providing a detailed analysis of the final Minerals Management Service (MMS) regulations governing leases for energy production on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), including wind and ocean energy. Please contact us with any questions!
MMS Finalizes Regulations for Renewable Energy Projects on the OCS
The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has issued its final regulations for renewable energy projects on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Stoel Rives attorneys are reviewing the 579-page rule now and will provide further updates soon!
FERC and MMS Reach Agreement on Offshore Renewable Energy
Today, Department of Interior Secretary Salazar and FERC Chairman Wellinghoff signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) clarifying each agency’s jurisdictional responsibilities for siting renewable energy on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The MOA should clear the way for wind, wave, tidal, ocean current, and solar energy projects on the OCS. My colleagues, including Cherise Oram, are reviewing the MOA now, and will provide more details and analysis shortly!
Interior Highlights Opportunities for Renewable Energy Development on OCS
The U.S. Department of Interior recently published a report highlighting the information currently available regarding the nature and scope of energy resources on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), including renewable energy. The report is a result of the new administration's approach to developing energy resources on the OCS, and will serve as background information for four regional meetings that Secretary Salazar is hosting in April to review the findings of the report and gather input from all interested parties on whether, where, and how the U.S. will develop conventional and renewable energy resources on the OCS. The report also identifies information gaps regarding available data on and environmental issues connected with energy development on the OCS. The report's three main sections are: (1) renewable energy resources, (2) oil and gas resources, and (3) sensitive environmental areas and resources.
Interior and FERC reach agreement on Outer Continental Shelf hydrokinetic projects; Secretary Salazar announces regional meeting details
From our colleague Cherise Oram:
Secretary of Interior (DOI) Ken Salazar and Acting Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Jon Wellinghoff have announced an agreement describing how the two agencies will work together to facilitate permitting renewable energy – particularly ocean wave and current projects – on the outer continental shelf (OCS). The announcement indicates that DOI’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) will retain leasing authority for ocean wave and current projects on the OCS, but that FERC will have the “primary responsibility to manage the licensing of such projects” pursuant to the Federal Power Act (FPA) hydropower licensing provisions. FERC has long asserted that the FPA gives it concurrent jurisdiction with MMS’s leasing authority. The announcement indicates that the agencies will sign a more detailed Memorandum of Understanding describing how the agencies will coordinating their licensing and leasing processes for offshore projects.
This announcement comes just as Secretary Salazar, FERC Commissioner Philip Moeller and others were to testify before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on offshore renewable energy, including the jurisdictional debate between MMS and FERC.
Finally, Secretary Salazar has announced more detailed information on the four regional offshore renewable energy meetings he plans to hold April 6-16 in Atlantic City, New Orleans, Anchorage and San Francisco. For detailed information, see Secretary Salazar’s Invitation to Regional Meetings on Offshore Energy Development.
