Emerging Marine Renewable Energy Tech Highlighted in Senate Hearing, Bill | Article

Energy innovation provides a prime opportunity to lower greenhouse gas emissions, improve environmental outcomes, create jobs and solve tricky questions of fuel delivery in hard-to-reach areas. Marine hydrokinetic energy, generated by the movement of ocean or riverine waves, tides, currents, and thermal vents, is a promising energy solution for the many communities in the U.S. and around the world located near water resources. MHK combined with microgrid technologies could have the most immediate impact on remote communities, which must import diesel to fuel generators at high cost and high environmental risk. And, unlike solar and wind energy, the regularity and predictability of these natural phenomena make MHK an opportune source of baseload power.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on September 25 to examine emerging offshore energy sources, including MHK. MHK technology has existed for several decades, but recent innovations present the possibility of scaling their power and geographic scope. Speakers discussed the current state and future opportunities of these technologies, along with federal policies and programs that can support their development and deployment.

Federal Resources, Regulations, and Recommendations for Marine Hydrokinetic Energy Innovation and Deployment

The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) is the federal office primarily responsible for evaluating and funding new innovations in MHK energy. According to hearing witness Daniel Simmons, Assistant Secretary for EERE (who also headlined EESI’s Congressional Clean Energy EXPO in July), WPTO launched the Powering the Blue Economy (PBE) initiative in 2019 in order to further facilitate these goals through enhanced federal and private partnerships. To that end, PBE created competitive funding opportunities such as the Ocean Observing Prize, in partnership with NOAA, to encourage innovation in marine energy-powered ocean observing platforms. Other WPTO-sponsored prizes include the Marine Energy Collegiate Competition, managed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which awards undergraduate and graduate students competing to solve marine energy innovation challenges.

Both the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) have jurisdiction over grid-connected MHK projects in federal waters, which begin six to nine nautical miles from shore. Projects in federal waters must first acquire a lease from BOEM and then get a license for construction and operation from FERC. In state waters, companies do not need a lease from BOEM but do need a license from FERC.

Hearing witness Walter Cruickshank, Acting Director of BOEM, commented that while BOEM and FERC have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate on MHK projects and advance project licensing expediency, the newness of the technology can slow the leasing and licensing process as regulators are not sure how devices will affect the environment or other industries that use the ocean space.

Official FERC documents suggest that a license decision could be reached in 6-12 months after applications are submitted. However, panelist Stuart Davies, President and CEO of MHK firm Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC), observed that on average local, state, and federal permitting requirements are approved after seven and a half years, commenting that this timeline is “prohibitive to scaling-up the commercialization of mature MHK devices in state waters.”

Davies’ company ORPC develops MHK devices and microgrid technology for river and tidal systems. One of ORPC’s projects is with the remote Alaskan village of Igiugig, where the company worked with the mostly-Indigenous village of 69 people to replace diesel power generation with their RivGen® Power System. MHK now provides about half of the village’s power.

Based on his experience as a business owner and technology developer, Davies proposed several funding and regulatory fixes to accelerate MHK research and deployment in the U.S. Davies pointed to the 2013 Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act as legislation that accelerated FERC permitting for hydropower facilities, noting similar legislation could be crafted for MHK projects. He further suggested FERC update its 2008 Licensing Hydroelectric Pilot License Projects whitepaper, which currently guides MHK licensing requirements and device testing procedure. Davies commented that recent research indicating the low environmental impacts of MHK technologies should be incorporated into the report and that these assurances would also speed up the permitting process.

Davies also reflected on the DOE programs that have helped fund ORPC’s research and development activities, including WPTO, the Office of Science Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, and the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs. He suggested that one of the most significant policy changes Congress could enact would be providing a carve out $500 million for small projects in DOE’s Title XVII Innovative Energy Loan Guarantee Program, which has a $25 billion budget. According to Davies the program's $1 million requirement for upfront due diligence is too high for emerging technology companies such as ORPC.

The American Energy Innovation Act

ENR Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-Ala.) and ranking member Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) each noted that their co-sponsored American Energy Innovation Act (S.2657) would provide funding authorization for a wide range of energy research, development and deployment and job training, including MHK. The AEIA was released in February of 2020 and incorporated over 50 individual bills, including Senator Ron Wyden’s (D-Ore.) Marine Research and Development Act (S.1821), which would provide funding authorization for marine energy innovation. The House passed a similar bill, the Clean Energy and Jobs Innovation Act (H.R. 4447), September 24. Clean energy and innovation advocates across political parties have urged Senate policymakers to pass the AEIA before the November elections, highlighting the potential to further American innovation, meeting carbon emission reduction targets and developing new technologies for global export.

Author: Amber Todoroff