WAVE ENERGY NORTH AND SOUTH IN THE WEST

Bush administration agencies have not failed to act on environmental and energy matters. They have simply worked slowly. The pace of action can be as impactful as the choice of actions.

Recent Senate hearings revealed that the The White House carefully monitored EPA action on greenhouse gas emissions, allowing it to go forward while it served the purpose of keeping the 2007 energy bill moving. After the bill became law, the White House slowed the EPA's process so now no conclusion can be reached during this presidency.

The Bush Bureau of Land Management recently withdrew a proposed moratorium on solar power plant development. A temporary moratorium, combined with the usual bureaucratic complexities, delayed access to megawatts from the sun as long as was necessary for natural gas and LNG to get a firm foothold in the southwest.

Likewise with ocean energy regulation: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and Minerals Management Service (MMS) have not failed to regulate. They have simply acted methodically, keeping all progress on ocean energy and offshore wind energy on the Outer Continental Shelf to a minimum and guaranteeing no megawatts of New Energy could be produced to interfere with propaganda about “clean” coal and a nuclear "renaissance" on this administration’s watch.

A friend of NewEnergyNews compulsively asks: “How much difference would a Gore presidency have made to the present state of New Energy?”

Considering the former Vice President’s recent call for obtaining all U.S. electricity from emissions-free power generation within 10 years, NewEnergyNews suspects a Gore presidency would have made a huge difference.

Is that important? Consider Neil Young's recent answer when Charlie Rose asked what could be done about the war in Iraq. "We'll solve the war problem when we solve this energy problem," Young replied.

Click here for California Wave Energy data and information

Click here for Oregon Wave Energy data and information

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Wave energy authorization inches forward
John Driscoll, July 24, 2008 (Eureka Times-Standard)
and
Wave energy planning process provides ‘historic opportunity’
Terry Dillman, July 24, 2008 (Newport News-Times)

WHO
- Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E), U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS); Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC); Pacific Fisheries Management Council
- Onno Husing, director, Oregon Coastal Zone Management Association (OCZMA); Ocean Power Technologies (OPT)

WHAT
- MMS seconded FERC’s permitting of a PG&E wave energy site for environmental impact testing.
- Husing and the OCZMA are moving to develop a Territorial Sea Management Plan for Oregon that would provide guidelines for the location and scale of wave energy development (or marine reserves) within the state's territorial sea.

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WHEN
- MMS announced July 23 it will move forward with assessment of leases for New Energy projects on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
- The MMS permit was issued under temporary guidelines established in November 2007.
- Husing’s call for input from locals was in the June 2008 OCZMA newsletter, “Oregon Coastal Notes.”
- OCZMA signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) w/FERC in March to develop plans for the Oregon coast.
- Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s March executive order directed state agencies to prepare a wave energy and marine reserves plan.

WHERE
- OCS: “…the submerged lands, subsoil, and seabed, lying between the seaward extent of the States' jurisdiction and the seaward extent of Federal jurisdiction…”
- States jurisdiction:
(1) Texas/Florida Gulf - 3 marine leagues (~9 nautical miles) seaward;
(2) Louisiana - 3 imperial nautical miles (imperial nautical mile = 6080.2 feet) seaward;
(3) All other States: 3 nautical miles (~3.3 statute miles) seaward.
- Federal jurisdiction: By international law, the farthest of 200 nautical miles seaward or a distance not greater than a line 350 nautical miles from the baseline.
- The OCZMA’s Territorial Sea Management Plan would be for the Oregon coast.
PG&E is moving ahead with the development of wave energy projects off the Humboldt and Mendocino county coasts in California.
- The Oregon coast off Reedsport and Coos Bay is used for ocean energy project tests.

WHY
- FERC granted preliminary permits to PG&E 8 to 200 wave energy buoys somewhere from 2 to 10 miles offshore. The project location is in both FERC and MMS jurisdictions.
- The limited leases allow PG&E to test for potential impacts on sea life and the commercial fishing fleet.
- The question of such impacts were raised by thePacific Fisheries Management Council.
- There is a 10-buoy test site off Reedsport.
- There is a proposed OPT 200-buoy commercial-scale “wave park” off Coos Bay.
- Oregon officials are committed to obtaining input from locals for its Territorial Sea Management Plan. They are determined to resolve differences between the fishing industry and wave energy producers without compromising opportunities for either.

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QUOTES
- According to MMS, the temporary limited lease guidelines require : “…thorough environmental analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act and related laws, as well as close consultation with federal, state and local government agencies…”
- Onno Husing, director, Oregon Coastal Zone Management Association (OCZMA): “We have been given an historic opportunity…If you are a fisherman (recreational or commercial), get involved. Share your knowledge...Few people know Oregon's ocean like ocean users. This process will work only if you participate. If we don't develop these plans, someone else will.”
- Onno Husing, director, Oregon Coastal Zone Management Association (OCZMA): “Wave energy development...has created anxiety in coastal communities on the Oregon coast…Through a comprehensive ocean plan, we can steer wave energy development away from key fishing grounds and sensitive habitats,”
- Onno Husing, director, Oregon Coastal Zone Management Association (OCZMA): “It's about local empowerment. Up and down the Oregon coast, people are responding to the challenge. From south to north...respected local people - including ocean users - are engaged.”