A tidal energy developer has been granted a preliminary permit to study a proposed project in Western Passage, near the city of Eastport, Maine.
Under the Federal Power Act, most grid-connected tidal power projects require licensing by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Section 4(f) of the Federal Power Act authorizes the Commission to issue preliminary permits to allow prospective applicants for a hydropower license time to secure the data and perform the acts required to prepare a license application. A preliminary permit preserves the holder's right to have first priority in applying for a license for the project being studied.
On December 4, 2015, ORPC Maine, LLC applied for a preliminary permit to study the feasibility of the proposed Western Passage Tidal Energy Project No. 14743. As described in that application, the project would include fifteen of ORPC's proprietary 500-kilowatt hydrokinetic marine turbine-generator units for a combined capacity of 7.5 megawatts, along with anchoring and mooring systems, and transmission lines running ashore to an existing distribution line. The materials describe an estimated average annual generation of 2.6 to 3.53 gigawatt-hours.
The Commission granted that preliminary permit by an order dated July 13, 2016. In that order, the Commission addressed comments filed by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Passamaquoddy Tribe, and an individual.
In its comments, the tribe raised concerns over what the Commission calls "site banking". As described by the Commission, the essence of its policy against site
banking is that "an entity that is unwilling or unable to develop a site
should not be permitted to maintain the exclusive right to develop it." In some cases, the Commission invokes its policy against site banking to deny applications for successive preliminary permits.
The tribe questioned whether ORPC Maine should be granted a new preliminary permit when it has held two prior preliminary permits for the site of the proposed Western Passage Project -- the first issued in 2007, and a successive
permit in 2011 -- without ever filing a development application.
But in ORPC's case, the Commission noted that the project site has been unencumbered by a permit since ORPC's most recent permit expired in 2013, and that no other entity has filed a preliminary permit or development application for the site. The Commission concluded that "a sufficient amount of time has passed for any other entity interested in developing the Western Passage Project site to have filed a preliminary permit or development application for the site and none has done so. Consequently, issuing a permit at this time to ORPC Maine for this site would not contribute to site banking."
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Showing posts with label marine hydrokinetic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marine hydrokinetic. Show all posts
Funding to reduce barriers to marine, hydrokinetic energy
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced a competitive funding opportunity designed to support the growing marine hydrokinetic energy industry. $1.9 million is available for projects that will improve the collection and analysis of environmental monitoring and experimental data from marine hydrokinetic devices.
Marine hydrokinetic energy technologies capture the energy embodied in moving ocean water such as tides, currents, and waves. While the marine hydrokinetic industry is relatively young, at least one project has been licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and built off the Maine coast. Research and development efforts are ongoing regarding a variety of marine hydrokinetic technologies and devices, and their environmental impacts continue to be studied.
The recently-announced federal funding aims to support that environmental evaluation. Working with the National Oceanographic Partnership Program, the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Wind and Water Power Technologies Office has issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement entitled “Marine and Hydrokinetic (MHK) Environmental Effects Assessment and Monitoring.”
Under that Funding Opportunity Announcement, the Department of Energy offers $1.9 million in funding to be split by up to 11 recipients. Specific project areas include studies of fish behavior and mortality around hydrokinetic turbines, improved environmental monitoring of marine hydrokinetic projects, and predictive modeling of marine hydrokinetic projects' environmental impacts based on surrogate technologies with stressors and receptors similar to those expected from marine hydrokinetic technologies.
Under the competitive solicitation, the Department of Energy requested Letters of Intent to be submitted by 11:59 Eastern Time on April 18, 2013. Full applications, which must include specified documents, must be submitted by 5:00 PM ET on May 16, 2013. For more information, visit the Department of Energy's official Funding Opportunity Announcement website or contact Todd Griset at Preti Flaherty.
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| Looking east from Griffith Head, Reid State Park, Maine. Damariscove Island, a proposed offshore wind site, sits on the right horizon. |
Marine hydrokinetic energy technologies capture the energy embodied in moving ocean water such as tides, currents, and waves. While the marine hydrokinetic industry is relatively young, at least one project has been licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and built off the Maine coast. Research and development efforts are ongoing regarding a variety of marine hydrokinetic technologies and devices, and their environmental impacts continue to be studied.
The recently-announced federal funding aims to support that environmental evaluation. Working with the National Oceanographic Partnership Program, the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Wind and Water Power Technologies Office has issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement entitled “Marine and Hydrokinetic (MHK) Environmental Effects Assessment and Monitoring.”
Under that Funding Opportunity Announcement, the Department of Energy offers $1.9 million in funding to be split by up to 11 recipients. Specific project areas include studies of fish behavior and mortality around hydrokinetic turbines, improved environmental monitoring of marine hydrokinetic projects, and predictive modeling of marine hydrokinetic projects' environmental impacts based on surrogate technologies with stressors and receptors similar to those expected from marine hydrokinetic technologies.
Under the competitive solicitation, the Department of Energy requested Letters of Intent to be submitted by 11:59 Eastern Time on April 18, 2013. Full applications, which must include specified documents, must be submitted by 5:00 PM ET on May 16, 2013. For more information, visit the Department of Energy's official Funding Opportunity Announcement website or contact Todd Griset at Preti Flaherty.
FERC, BOEM marine hydrokinetic guidelines
Friday, July 20, 2012
Two key federal regulators of marine renewable energy production have issued an updated set of guidelines for regulatory aspects of marine and hydrokinetic energy projects.
The document, BOEM / FERC Guidelines on Regulation of Marine and Hydrokinetic Energy Projects on the OCS, is designed to to clarify jurisdictional responsibilities for marine and hydrokinetic projects on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and to foster a cohesive, streamlined process that will help accelerate the development of MHK (i.e., wave, tidal, and ocean current) energy projects.
The OCS includes all submerged lands, subsoil, and seabed lying between the seaward extent of the states' jurisdiction (approximately 3 nautical miles from shore, or 3 marine leagues for Texas and the Gulf coast of Florida) and the seaward extent of federal jurisdiction (approximately 200 nautical miles or more from shore).
As described in the guidelines, an MHK project generates electricity from the motion of waves or the unimpounded flow of tides, ocean currents, or inland waterways. (While ocean thermal energy conversion or OTEC projects also fall under the MHK umbrella, the new guidelines focus on ocean wave and ocean current technologies.)
The guidelines cover only MHK projects on the OCS. The guidelines therefore cover neither nearshore MHK projects in state-jurisdictional waters, nor offshore wind projects in federal or state waters.
The guidelines published yesterday fit within the larger context of agreements between previously-sparring federal agencies. BOEM regulates site leasing, while FERC regulates hydropower. As marine hydrokinetic technologies improved to the point where developers began proposing commercial projects, tensions and inconsistency developed between how the two agencies regulated and interacted.
This situation led the U.S. Department of the Interior and FERC to execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in April 2009, recognizing each agency’s respective jurisdiction. Under the agreement, BOEM has jurisdiction to issue leases on the OCS for MHK projects, while FERC has jurisdiction to issue licenses for these same projects. The agencies felt that the agreement established a cohesive, streamlined process to lease, license and regulate all renewable energy development activities on the OCS, including marine hydrokinetic sources.
FERC and BOEMs’ predecessor Minerals Management Service (MMS) issued the first set of joint guidelines in 2009. As part of MMS’s Guidelines for the Minerals Management Service Renewable Energy Framework, the agencies included an appendix presenting MMS / FERC Guidance on Regulation of Hydrokinetic Energy Projects on the OCS. That document covered procedures for obtaining leases and licenses, municipal preferences, fee structures, and procedures for pursuing hybrid projects (more than one form of renewable energy) or straddle projects (straddling the boundary dividing state waters and the OCS).
Yesterday’s announcement presents a refreshed version of these guidelines. The revised guidelines offer guidance on a number of key regulatory aspects of MHK development process. Since 2009, both FERC and BOEM have changed some of their processes in significant ways – for example, BOEM now allows research leases, and FERC has expedited its pilot project licensure process. The guidelines thus help developers and others in the marine community to understand the legal process for exploration and development of hydrokinetic ocean energy sites.
The document, BOEM / FERC Guidelines on Regulation of Marine and Hydrokinetic Energy Projects on the OCS, is designed to to clarify jurisdictional responsibilities for marine and hydrokinetic projects on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and to foster a cohesive, streamlined process that will help accelerate the development of MHK (i.e., wave, tidal, and ocean current) energy projects.
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| U.S. Coast Guard icebreaking tug THUNDER BAY at its home berth in Rockland, Maine. |
The OCS includes all submerged lands, subsoil, and seabed lying between the seaward extent of the states' jurisdiction (approximately 3 nautical miles from shore, or 3 marine leagues for Texas and the Gulf coast of Florida) and the seaward extent of federal jurisdiction (approximately 200 nautical miles or more from shore).
As described in the guidelines, an MHK project generates electricity from the motion of waves or the unimpounded flow of tides, ocean currents, or inland waterways. (While ocean thermal energy conversion or OTEC projects also fall under the MHK umbrella, the new guidelines focus on ocean wave and ocean current technologies.)
The guidelines cover only MHK projects on the OCS. The guidelines therefore cover neither nearshore MHK projects in state-jurisdictional waters, nor offshore wind projects in federal or state waters.
The guidelines published yesterday fit within the larger context of agreements between previously-sparring federal agencies. BOEM regulates site leasing, while FERC regulates hydropower. As marine hydrokinetic technologies improved to the point where developers began proposing commercial projects, tensions and inconsistency developed between how the two agencies regulated and interacted.
This situation led the U.S. Department of the Interior and FERC to execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in April 2009, recognizing each agency’s respective jurisdiction. Under the agreement, BOEM has jurisdiction to issue leases on the OCS for MHK projects, while FERC has jurisdiction to issue licenses for these same projects. The agencies felt that the agreement established a cohesive, streamlined process to lease, license and regulate all renewable energy development activities on the OCS, including marine hydrokinetic sources.
FERC and BOEMs’ predecessor Minerals Management Service (MMS) issued the first set of joint guidelines in 2009. As part of MMS’s Guidelines for the Minerals Management Service Renewable Energy Framework, the agencies included an appendix presenting MMS / FERC Guidance on Regulation of Hydrokinetic Energy Projects on the OCS. That document covered procedures for obtaining leases and licenses, municipal preferences, fee structures, and procedures for pursuing hybrid projects (more than one form of renewable energy) or straddle projects (straddling the boundary dividing state waters and the OCS).
Yesterday’s announcement presents a refreshed version of these guidelines. The revised guidelines offer guidance on a number of key regulatory aspects of MHK development process. Since 2009, both FERC and BOEM have changed some of their processes in significant ways – for example, BOEM now allows research leases, and FERC has expedited its pilot project licensure process. The guidelines thus help developers and others in the marine community to understand the legal process for exploration and development of hydrokinetic ocean energy sites.
Municipal hydrokinetic energy
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Interest is increasing in municipal hydrokinetic energy projects, as cities and towns consider whether they should generate renewable electricity from their water resources. Hydrokinetics
entails generating electricity from moving water such as tides, waves, and
free-flowing rivers. Towns, states, and national governments may not only have an interest in generating power for their citizens, but may also have advantages in project development such as lower financing costs.
For example, the town of Wiscasset, Maine is considering whether to pursue a project togenerate electricity from tidal power in the Sheepscot River. The town thinks that tidal currents and flowing water in the Sheepscot could be used to generate electricity using hydrokinetic technology. In 2008, the town applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a preliminary permit to study the feasibility of the project. Wiscasset proposed to deploy a series of hydrokinetic turbine generating units in the tidal Sheepscot, along with associated transmission facilities. Currently, Wiscasset appears to be considering using the RivGen units under design by ORPC.
In May 2009, the FERC granted Wiscasset its preliminary permit. Preliminary permits confer the right to investigate the feasibility of a hydropower project, typically for a three-year term. Preliminary permits do not authorize actual construction; to actually build and operate a hydrokinetic or hydroelectric project generally requires a FERC license or exemption. The holder of a preliminary permit does have first priority to file for a full license as long as the preliminary permit remains in effect, and FERC expects permittees to make progress toward ultimate licensure. (For example, in September 2011 a company affiliated with ORPC used its preliminary permit priority to file a pilot license application for the Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project.)
Next spring, the town faces a key deadline if it chooses to seek a hydrokinetic pilot project license for the project. Wiscasset’s preliminary permit is set to expire on April 30, 2012. Filings in the project’s FERC docket suggest that the town may seek to extend that deadline. For example, in a May 2011 filing, the town said, “we anticipate the Wiscasset Project will apply for a successive Preliminary Permit in May 2012”.
Generally, preliminary permits expire after three years, after which the original permittee has no special rights to the site. In certain circumstances, federal regulators can grant successive preliminary permits. For example, FERC has given several municipal hydroelectric projects successive preliminary permits when the towns need more time. Even this requires a showing of diligent efforts to investigate the project’s feasibility and partial progress toward readiness for a license application.
In Wiscasset’s case, other deadlines within the preliminary permit process have already been extended. For example, the 2009 preliminary permit required the town to submit a Notice of Intent and draft license application in May 2011. Instead of filing these pre-application documents, the town chose to ask FERC for an extension to allow more site studies and stakeholder consultation. FERC allowed the town more time, but only until the preliminary permit expires on April 30, 2012. FERC may give the town similar leniency if it applies for a successive preliminary permit this spring. On the other hand, FERC promotes competition and discourages “site-banking”; if someone else showed interest in developing the Wiscasset site, FERC might be less inclined to issue the town a successive preliminary permit.
Wiscasset has until the end of April 2012 to either file a license or seek its successive preliminary permit. If Wiscasset moves forward, the Sheepscot hydrokinetic project could be an example of how towns can benefit from their renewable energy resources.
For example, the town of Wiscasset, Maine is considering whether to pursue a project togenerate electricity from tidal power in the Sheepscot River. The town thinks that tidal currents and flowing water in the Sheepscot could be used to generate electricity using hydrokinetic technology. In 2008, the town applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a preliminary permit to study the feasibility of the project. Wiscasset proposed to deploy a series of hydrokinetic turbine generating units in the tidal Sheepscot, along with associated transmission facilities. Currently, Wiscasset appears to be considering using the RivGen units under design by ORPC.
In May 2009, the FERC granted Wiscasset its preliminary permit. Preliminary permits confer the right to investigate the feasibility of a hydropower project, typically for a three-year term. Preliminary permits do not authorize actual construction; to actually build and operate a hydrokinetic or hydroelectric project generally requires a FERC license or exemption. The holder of a preliminary permit does have first priority to file for a full license as long as the preliminary permit remains in effect, and FERC expects permittees to make progress toward ultimate licensure. (For example, in September 2011 a company affiliated with ORPC used its preliminary permit priority to file a pilot license application for the Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project.)
Next spring, the town faces a key deadline if it chooses to seek a hydrokinetic pilot project license for the project. Wiscasset’s preliminary permit is set to expire on April 30, 2012. Filings in the project’s FERC docket suggest that the town may seek to extend that deadline. For example, in a May 2011 filing, the town said, “we anticipate the Wiscasset Project will apply for a successive Preliminary Permit in May 2012”.
Generally, preliminary permits expire after three years, after which the original permittee has no special rights to the site. In certain circumstances, federal regulators can grant successive preliminary permits. For example, FERC has given several municipal hydroelectric projects successive preliminary permits when the towns need more time. Even this requires a showing of diligent efforts to investigate the project’s feasibility and partial progress toward readiness for a license application.
In Wiscasset’s case, other deadlines within the preliminary permit process have already been extended. For example, the 2009 preliminary permit required the town to submit a Notice of Intent and draft license application in May 2011. Instead of filing these pre-application documents, the town chose to ask FERC for an extension to allow more site studies and stakeholder consultation. FERC allowed the town more time, but only until the preliminary permit expires on April 30, 2012. FERC may give the town similar leniency if it applies for a successive preliminary permit this spring. On the other hand, FERC promotes competition and discourages “site-banking”; if someone else showed interest in developing the Wiscasset site, FERC might be less inclined to issue the town a successive preliminary permit.
Wiscasset has until the end of April 2012 to either file a license or seek its successive preliminary permit. If Wiscasset moves forward, the Sheepscot hydrokinetic project could be an example of how towns can benefit from their renewable energy resources.
Maine hydrokinetic energy project seeks pilot license
Friday, October 21, 2011
Hydrokinetic power plants can produce usable power from the energy contained in moving water into
electricity. Tidal currents, ocean waves, or water flowing through rivers can all be used to produce hydrokinetic energy. (To learn more, check out my summary of what's happening with hydrokinetics across the country.)
Hydrokinetic energy development is generally regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. To be able to install and operate a hydrokinetic project at a given site, the developer typically goes through a multi-step regulatory process. This usually includes securing a preliminary permit granting the exclusive right to study the site for several years, followed by the FERC license application process.
Maine is home to a number of issued preliminary permits for proposed hydrokinetic energy projects. This month, one of those projects -- the Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project -- took a step forward, as its application for a pilot license was accepted by the Commission.
The Cobscook Bay project is proposed by ORPC Maine, LLC, a subsidiary of Ocean Renewable Power Company. ORPC proposes to deploy its proprietary scalable tidal energy power system in Cobscook Bay near the city of Eastport and the town of Lubec, Maine. Cobscook Bay's tidal energy resource has drawn interest for nearly 100 years, with proposals like the Passamaquoddy Power Project coming and going in that time. Hydrokinetic technologies are enabling renewed interest in the bay's tidal energy resources.
ORPC's pilot license application envisions two phases of project development. First, ORPC will test a single TidGen unit for one year. Next, ORPC would add four more TidGen units to create a linked project. Each TidGen unit has a maximum design capacity of 180 kilowatts, but is anticipated to produce only 60 kW during typical operations. Electricity produced by the project would be brought ashore via a 3,600-foot underwater cable, where it would be conditioned and interconnected with the grid owned by Bangor Hydro Electric Company.
FERC gave notice that it accepted ORPC's application for processing on October 6, 2011. Because ORPC is using the Commission's new pilot license process, the regulatory steps are more streamlined than for traditional hydropower licenses, and many of the deadlines are accelerated. Comments, recommendations, motions to intervene or protests are due within 30 days from that notice of acceptance.
Hydrokinetic energy development is generally regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. To be able to install and operate a hydrokinetic project at a given site, the developer typically goes through a multi-step regulatory process. This usually includes securing a preliminary permit granting the exclusive right to study the site for several years, followed by the FERC license application process.
Maine is home to a number of issued preliminary permits for proposed hydrokinetic energy projects. This month, one of those projects -- the Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project -- took a step forward, as its application for a pilot license was accepted by the Commission.
The Cobscook Bay project is proposed by ORPC Maine, LLC, a subsidiary of Ocean Renewable Power Company. ORPC proposes to deploy its proprietary scalable tidal energy power system in Cobscook Bay near the city of Eastport and the town of Lubec, Maine. Cobscook Bay's tidal energy resource has drawn interest for nearly 100 years, with proposals like the Passamaquoddy Power Project coming and going in that time. Hydrokinetic technologies are enabling renewed interest in the bay's tidal energy resources.
ORPC's pilot license application envisions two phases of project development. First, ORPC will test a single TidGen unit for one year. Next, ORPC would add four more TidGen units to create a linked project. Each TidGen unit has a maximum design capacity of 180 kilowatts, but is anticipated to produce only 60 kW during typical operations. Electricity produced by the project would be brought ashore via a 3,600-foot underwater cable, where it would be conditioned and interconnected with the grid owned by Bangor Hydro Electric Company.
FERC gave notice that it accepted ORPC's application for processing on October 6, 2011. Because ORPC is using the Commission's new pilot license process, the regulatory steps are more streamlined than for traditional hydropower licenses, and many of the deadlines are accelerated. Comments, recommendations, motions to intervene or protests are due within 30 days from that notice of acceptance.
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