Offshore Renewable

Public Workshops, Offshore Renewable Energy

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the Department of the Interior will host 12 public workshops this month to discuss the newly-issued regulatory program for renewable energy development on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. “The offshore renewable energy framework we have created for the Outer Continental Shelf will create new opportunities for clean power off our coasts, while providing certainty to industry and investors," said Secretary Salazar.  "As we implement this new framework, we want to ensure that everyone with an interest in the future of offshore renewable energy has opportunity to learn about this program, gather the information they need, and participate in their government.” The Final Framework for Renewable Energy Development on the OCS was published in the Federal Register on April 29, 2009.  The new program establishes a process for granting leases, easements, and rights-of-way for offshore renewable energy projects as well as methods for sharing revenues generated from OCS renewable energy projects with adjacent coastal States.  The program becomes effective June 29, 2009. Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS), the agency charged with regulating renewable energy development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), is organizing and conducting the workshops, which will begin with a detailed presentation and then open the floor to a question and answer session

NOIA Applauds New Offshore Wind Consortium & Office

The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) strongly supports the responsible development of all offshore energy sources and applauds the announcement by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar of the establishment of both the Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy Consortium and the new Atlantic Offshore Renewable Energy Office in Virginia.    “All forms of energy are important to our economic and energy security,” said NOIA President Randall Luthi

Global Offshore Industry Capex – Key Sectors ($ million)

source: Douglas-Westwood Ltd & Infield Systems Ltd The offshore industry should enjoy steady growth over the next five years and the longer-term prospects are looking even better as the potential for higher oil prices grows. Addressing delegates at a special meeting of the Society of Underwater Technology at London’s Imperial College today speakers from leading energy analysts Douglas-Westwood and offshore industry data specialists Infield systems painted a picture of long-term growth.

Coast Guard Submits Wind Farm Assessment

The U.S. Coast Guard announced on Jan. 15 that it completed and delivered its recommendations for the offshore renewable energy installation proposed for Nantucket Sound to the Minerals Management Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Coast Guard is a cooperating agency providing input in its areas of expertise to the MMS, which is the lead permitting agency for the proposed installation and has approval authority for that project. The report, "U.S

NOIA Hopeful Cape Wind Project Proceeds

The following is a statement by NOIA President Tom Fry regarding the Interior Department’s final review of the Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound: "When it comes to the fate of the complex and long-planned Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound, the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) agrees that after nearly a decade of multiple reviews and seemingly endless legal challenges, it is indeed time for a final permitting decision on the project. 

Testing Breaking Waves vs. Offshore Wind Turbines

More than 60 representatives of the international offshore wind industry gathered last week at the Offshore Wind Seminar, organized by the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN) and the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN). This seminar included a visit to unique model tests in the MARIN facilities of breaking waves against an offshore wind turbine. This pilot series of model tests, with a special model of an offshore wind turbine with realistic flexibility

Bureau Veritas Issues Guidance For Risk-Based Qualification Of New Technology

LEADING international classification society Bureau Veritas has issued guidelines for the Risk-Based Qualification of New Technology. Qualification is a process by which a new technology or an existing technology used in a new context is validated. The qualification process is intended to prove with an acceptable level of confidence and in a cost effective manner that a technology is fit for purpose, that it complies with the specifications that the designer developed and that it is

BOEMRE and NOAA Increase Coordination, Collaboration

As the International Oil Spill Conference kicks off in Portland, Ore. today, co-sponsors the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that they have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to increase their coordination and collaboration to ensure the environmentally sound offshore energy development. 

MARIN Sponsors Wind Turbine Design Challenge

Twenty-five international Ph.D. students and young researchers of the international offshore wind industry gathered last week at the floating wind turbine challenge, organized by the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN) and International Network on Offshore Renewable Energy (INORE). At this event, seven teams had to develop a floating structure for a 1/100 scale wind turbine in only 24 hours. All participants were provided the same choice of basic materials (PVC pipes, foam blocks

Secretary Salazar Appoints Bromwich, Beaudreau to Lead New DOI Bureaus

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar named current Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) Director Michael R. Bromwich to lead the newly formed Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and current BOEMRE Senior Advisor Tommy P. Beaudreau to lead the newly formed Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Bromwich and Beaudreau have both been highly involved in the creation of the two new bureaus