NEW WAVE POWER: Harnessing the ocean's power may be close at hand if FERC begins assigning operating licenses soon.
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The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Washington state agreed yesterday to coordinate environmental reviews and establish licensing schedules for emerging hydrokinetic technologies.
FERC authorizes operating licenses for marine projects that produce energy from oceans and rivers, including wave and tidal power. States must sign off on environmental issues related to coastal zone management and pollution in their waters. Other federal entities, including the Interior Department, must conduct environmental, safety and security reviews.
Under the memorandum of understanding [pdf] (MOU) signed by Washington state and FERC, the two agreed to notify each other if there is a potential applicant, quickly coordinate and agree to a schedule to process the application, and coordinate environmental reviews with each other and stakeholders. FERC also will take into account in its licensing process any "comprehensive plan" Washington has for siting projects.
FERC signed a similar hydrokinetic energy MOU with Oregon last year.
The agreement will help the state use another form of clean and renewable energy, said FERC Commissioner Philip Moeller, who hails from Washington. "The next crucial step is to place some of these projects in the water so that any effects on the marine ecosystem can be thoroughly analyzed. It's time for action on renewable energy technologies," he said.
FERC already established a short-term license for wave developers to test their technology, as opposed to having to apply for the fully hydroelectric license, which can take a significant time, sometimes decades, to be issued.
The MOU is the latest step to help reduce regulatory barriers to support this fledgling renewable energy technology. The industry, along with offshore wind power, got a huge boost in April when Interior and FERC signed an MOU that settled the offshore renewable energy permitting process, partitioning the leasing duties to Interior and the licensing and environmental reviews to FERC, although Interior would help with the environmental permitting.
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11 Comments
Add CommentCan't wait to discover after we've built thousands of those things that the energy they're sucking out of the ocean is such a drag on currents that they cause an ice age in Africa or something crazy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI can just imagine it! The year is 2209. Humankind is once again sitting on it's hands in a state of mental paralysis about what to do. The day length has lengthened to 24:46:32. Environmentalists and planetary geologists view this with great alarm. Republicrats insist that it is no big deal; we're a long way from infinity.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTwo groups of bureaucrats cooperating to speed up progress, something is wrong here, the prime object of bureaucracy is to impead progress.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"hotblack" is half right, a few magawatts of drag off Washington & Oregon could change the coastal ecolagy of central California from San Francisco to Long Beach due to warming caused by slowing the current from Alaska that cools the coastal waters. Maybe the water will be warm enough to swim in without a wet suit, and the summer fog won't be so bad. Screw up the fishing and abalone.
You win some and lose a few.
"hotblack" brought up a good point; has anyone really looked at the global scale of "green" energy?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this-Wind and water turbines change currents
-Geothermal cools the earths mantle faster than normal
-Solar power changes how the sun heats the earth
-Any type of combustion (even stoichiometric) produces CO2 so green fuels watch out
-Sending anything to space never to return changes the speed and orbit of the earth
Do any of these do enough to change something mabey, mabey not, but paraphrasing Newton, an infinit number of infinitly small things produces real results.
Over the history of the Earth, there has been change. As every creature and plant has evolved the Earth has changed in response to something, or the Earth has changed and creatures evolved in response. Some went extinct, but others came into existence. Should we be happy for those that benefited or sad for those that perished? We were a great beneficiary of the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period (the end of the dinosaurs) as were all mammals, I for one am happy about that.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOne thing is for sure. If we act, we will create change. If we don't act, change will happen without us. It is just a matter of what the change will be. We can sit and do nothing or we can take our best shot. I would rather take our best shot and know that we tried than have sat on our hands and let the actions of the past dictate our future.
Alright jdh46 I would like to see some scientific data that can back up the claims you have just made. I am certain you don't have it because you are online spouting false opinions as if they are scientific fact. Can you prove that geothermal effects the temp of the earth's core? No... you can't, there is absolutely NO EVIDENCE to support your outrageous claims. One other thing for the sake of clarity. The tidal bulge is part of the moon's cycle, not the earth's rotation!!! Please, at least learn some basic science before posting in a scientific community. We are all sick of the renewable energy smear campaign. To those of you who are neutral readers I have an observation. The only reason people are bashing the renewable energy industry is because they are motivated by industries which don't care about our environment. Don't let their mask of concern fool you, they are here to promote the interests of evil people who've already contributed to the decimation of our planets environment. Be an independent thinker, and research the outrageous claims of those who are motivated by money and not our planet's best interest!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTake off the aluminum foil hat "greenlove". What I was attempting at saying was that no one looks at the entire picture.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFor instance there was an article in Scientific American earlier this year saying that coal plants are more radioactive to people within 1 Km than nuclear plants. I bet that wont come up when congress gets lobbied by the coal industry to push for "clean coal".
While the tide is caused by the moon, if the flow is impeded then it might end up finding an easier way around the obstruction, which could cause coastal flooding.
I am not sure why you have stooped to insulting my intelligence "jdh46" but you still haven't come through with any science to back your claims. Your biggest point is that the big picture is being ignored, yet you yourself have failed to become educated about the small battles: let alone the big picture. In your first post you implied that coastal generators would cause a change in the earth's rotation, now you are claiming they will cause coastal flooding. Get your science straight. I would love to see you post a link to ANY ACADEMIC or SCIENTIFIC study which supports your claims. Good luck, we both know they don't exist. To those who are neutral and intelligent observers of this debate I urge you to research the science behind geothermal, hydrokinetics, biofuels, wind and solar power -- you can see for yourselves that jdh46 is spouting lies.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn my first post I said that "wind and water turbines change currents"; how much I dont know, I'm not a scientist, maybe its so minimal that it wont impede normal curent. I'm saying that I would like to see science look into this.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI did say that "Sending anything to space never to return changes the speed and orbit of the earth". Anyone who passed high school physics knows this (momentum).
I'm not trying to debunk these ideas, I would like more information.
Nuclear power was once thought of as a silver bullet that would cure all pollution problems. Now we know that storing the spent fuel causes more problems than it solves.
Now that we are at the dawn of new energy creating technology that is truely sustainable and not just for one generation.
In my first post I said that "wind and water turbines change currents"; how much I dont know, I'm not a scientist, maybe its so minimal that it wont impede normal curent. I'm saying that I would like to see science look into this.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI did say that "Sending anything to space never to return changes the speed and orbit of the earth". Anyone who passed high school physics knows this (momentum).
I'm not trying to debunk these ideas, I would like more information.
Nuclear power was once thought of as a silver bullet that would cure all pollution problems. Now we know that storing the spent fuel causes more problems than it solves.
Now that we are at the dawn of new energy creating technology that is truely sustainable and not just for one generation.
Please jdh46 I am urging you to look into the scientific studies about these concerns! The FERC just granted around 50 permits to organizations who want to investigate the effects of placing generators in oceans and rivers. The science behind green technology is being investigated by qualified individuals, not high school physics students. These are professionals who want to see a solution for our power needs and our environment. There are many studies funded by the same industries that are pioneering into these fields because they want to do what right for the planet, not just for their wallets.
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