Pacific Energy Ventures to Lead Development of Study Protocols for Ocean  Renewables
Under the joint solicitation from DOE, BOEMRE, and NOAA, Pacific Energy Ventures (PEV) has been awarded funding to build a Protocol Framework that outlines the criteria and thresholds for collecting data for baseline and operational monitoring studies for wave, tidal and offshore wind projects on the U.S. West Coast. The overall goal of the project is to enable ocean renewable energy projects to proceed without prohibitive costs, while ensuring that environmental resources are protected.
PEV will execute the project over the next two years with a team of leading scientists and industry experts from the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center at Oregon State University, NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Science Applications International Corp., and HT Harvey & Associates. This team of pioneers in the ocean renewable energy industry will leverage their demonstrated leadership and expertise with innovative thought and approaches to develop the Protocol Framework, which will function as a foundation for the design and implementation of project-specific studies. Learn More
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Federal Agencies Award Nearly $5 Million to Advance Ocean Renewables In an unprecedented interagency effort to support ocean renewable energy, the Department of Energy (DOE), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), and the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have awarded almost $5 million for eight competitively-selected, peer-reviewed, environmental research projects. The projects will facilitate the siting and permitting of offshore renewable energy projects by identifying and addressing information gaps. See the DOE Press Release for details.
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OWET Launches Utility Market Initiative Roadshow
To disseminate and present the tools and strategies developed under its Utility Market Initiative (UMI), the Oregon Wave Energy Trust (OWET) is launching the UMI Road Show. The purpose of the UMI is to align the needs of regional electric utilities with the resource potential of the wave energy industry by providing tools and strategies to address the technical and market challenges associated with transitioning from pilot to commercial scale projects.
The "road show" will consist of a series of meetings and workshops with relevant utility staff to communicate the program results and solicit general industry feedback. The goal of this program is to educate as many utility stakeholders as possible on the opportunities and challenges of commercializing the wave energy industry.
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Coastal & Marine Spatial Planning Updates
sponsored by:
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Rhode Island Completes Ocean Management Plan 
On October 22, 2010 Rhode Island announced the completion of its Ocean Special Area Management Plan (Ocean SAMP). Rhode Island's Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) led the development of the Ocean SAMP, which went through an eight step public review process before being adopted by the CRMC. One of the most notable aspects of the Ocean SAMP is that it identifies areas to site offshore wind projects, which the state expects will significantly reduce the permitting process timeframe for offshore wind projects- possibly to as little as two years.
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 WCGA Hosts Workshops on Regional Ocean Partnership Proposal
In support of developing a coordinated proposal for NOAA's Regional Ocean Partnerships funding opportunity, the West Coast Governors' Agreement on Ocean Health (WCGA) is holding a series of workshops to engage stakeholders on regional coastal and marine spatial planning needs and priorities. One workshop will be held in each west coast state (see dates and locations in box to left). Please refer to the Invitation to Workshops for complete details.
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