Ocean Energy Archives
U.S. Department of Energy Releases New Wave & Tidal Energy Assessment Reports
Reports demonstrate major potential for wave and tidal energy production near U.S. coasts, Alaska & Hawaii
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released two reports detailing the country’s ocean wave and tidal resource energy potential. Mapping and Assessment of the United States Ocean Wave Energy Resource report is a follow-up to the Electric Power Research Institute’s (EPRI) 2004 study, with the most recent evidence suggesting a 26 percent increase in wave energy resources.
The Assessment of Energy Production Potential from Tidal Streams in the United States, led by researchers at Georgia Tech Research Corporation in collaboration with DOE, is the first of its kind in the U.S. and includes a geographic information systems (GIS) tool available for public use. The report data concludes that U.S. water power resources, including ocean wave, tidal and conventional hydropower, have the potential to provide 15 percent of our nation’s electricity by 2030.
“The release of both reports demonstrates the attainable energy potential of our nation’s vast ocean resources,” said Sean O’Neill, OREC’s President. “DOE’s investment in these studies, as well as the corresponding results, is a testament to the importance of our unique opportunity to pursue a diverse energy portfolio that includes wave and tidal energy in an effort to secure our energy supply, create jobs and lower greenhouse gas emissions.”
The reports are the most rigorous assessments thus far undertaken by DOE and its collaborative partners, and show the significant renewable energy contributions that waves and tidal currents off of U.S. coasts could provide to the grid. DOE announced the information in the resource assessments could “help to further develop the country’s significant ocean energy resources, create new industries and new jobs in America, and secure U.S. leadership in an emerging global market.”
The wave energy assessment concludes that the Pacific Ocean off the West Coast (Washington, Oregon and California) and Alaska encompass the greatest available wave energy resources in the U.S. The report also outlines the wave energy potential along the East Coast from Maine through North Carolina, and from South Carolina through Florida as well as in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska’s Bering Sea, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
The tidal energy assessment designates and details data for energy resource ‘hot spots’ across the U.S. including Alaska, Maine, Washington, Oregon, California, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Page 2 12909 Scarlet Oak Drive Darnestown, Maryland 20878 (301) 869-3790 www.oceanrenewable.com
About the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition
The Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition (OREC) is the only national trade association exclusively dedicated to promoting marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy technologies from clean, renewable ocean resources. Founded in April of 2005, the Coalition has grown to over 60 members including technology developers, consultants, law firms, investor-owned utilities, publicly owned utilities, universities, and scientific and engineering firms. The coalition is working with industry leaders, academic scholars, and other interested NGO's to encourage ocean renewable technologies and raise awareness of their vast potential to help secure an affordable, reliable, environmentally friendly energy future.
OREC seeks a legislative and regulatory regime in the U.S. that fosters the growth of ocean renewable technologies, their commercial development, and support in the race to capture the rich energy potential of our oceans. While other countries have already deployed viable, operating, power generating projects using the emission-free power of ocean waves, currents, and tidal forces, the U.S. is only beginning to acknowledge the importance of these technologies.
EMU Limited’s Expanded Geotechnical Services Pass Test In Germany
EMU Limited’s newly expanded geotechnical services were put to the test recently when the company successfully completed more than 1000 cone penetration tests along the cable routes of a number of proposed offshore wind farms in Germany. 
Equipped with the most up-to-date marine soil investigation technology on the market, EMU’s geotechnical offering includes three and six metre variable frequency vibrocorers, Datem Neptune 5000 heavyweight CPTs, gravity and piston corers and a number of various sediment sampling grabs.
EMU's technical director Richard Cooke said that the company’s continued investment in equipment, as well as its commitment to research and design in both geotechnical and geophysical survey techniques, means that the most innovative solutions are available to offshore developers for investigating and quickly progressing their developments.
“We employ the most technically advanced equipment available,” Richard said. “By combining this with an in-house team of geotechnical experts we are very well placed to advise clients on the right hardware and most efficient techniques to ensure the best quality data and core samples are obtained within budget and timeframe. “
“In combination with our own specialist sediments analysis laboratories, which undertake comprehensive physical and chemical testing, EMU provides the complete geotechnical turnkey solution,” he added.
General Dynamics Awarded $26 Million Task Order from the U.S. Department of Interior
General Dynamics Information Technology, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has been awarded a task order by the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, to support the Offshore Energy and Minerals Management (OEMM) program. This three-year task order has a potential value of $26.2 million if all options are exercised.
General Dynamics will deliver mission-specific infrastructure and applications to support the OEMM program as it manages oceanic energy resources. The company will develop and maintain new applications, provide system integration, infrastructure and operations support and project management. General Dynamics has provided the Offshore Energy and Minerals Management program IT and information management support for the past seven years. The work on this task order will be performed primarily in New Orleans; Camarillo, Calif.; and Anchorage, Alaska.
"The General Dynamics team has significant experience and in-depth knowledge of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. We will identify and implement technology solutions that help this organization achieve its mission objectives and strategic goals," said Marcus Collier, senior vice president of General Dynamics Information Technology's Health and Civilian Solutions division.
The OEMM program is responsible for minerals resource management on more than 1.7 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf. There are currently about 43 million acres leased to private industry for oil and gas development. Production from these leases accounts for almost 27 percent of U.S. domestic production of crude oil and 15 percent of its natural gas. Additionally, OEMM works in partnership with 14 coastal states to manage access to sand and gravel resources for coastal restoration and shore protection projects.
Marla Helveston, vice president, Civilian Solutions at General Dynamics Information Technology noted, "As a trusted partner of the OEMM program for more than seven years, we are dedicated to continually adapting to the evolving business needs of the Bureau and to help securely manage mineral resources and reduce time to oil and gas production."
The U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement is formerly known as the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE).
OSIL Offers Scour Monitor Package for Wind Farms
OSIL are pleased to offer a complete Scour Monitoring and Data Review Package for wind farms and other similar structures. 
Scour is a significant concern for owners and operators of offshore structures, as erosion of the sediment in the vicinity of a structure can lead to a lowering of the seabed directly surrounding the structure, undercutting foundations and decreasing the stability and lifespan of the structure. Offshore wind farms are now being proposed for, or built in, increasingly hostile hydrodynamic environments, and many candidate sites are located on beds of mobile sediments. In these cases, the interaction of the sediments with the turbine support structure, and the effects of flow- and wave-induced scour of the sediments must be carefully observed.
The package available from OSIL comprises an acoustic Scour Monitor, which is then coupled to the clients own data handling system, or to the OSIL Falcon or Falconet Data to Web Logger – which will then permit instant access to a web-based data display, eliminating the need to re-visit the unit to manually download data, or to perform ship-based surveys (which are restricted in the areas they are able to survey).
The Scour Monitor is mounted directly onto the turbine pile, and comprises four downward looking narrow acoustic beams (fanned out on a single axial plane) which provide a profile of the seabed close to the base of the pile.
Changes in the seabed surrounding the structure, or scour, can therefore be measured and observed in real-time, even during storm periods, thus providing invaluable information for modelers, operators, civil engineers, and all interested parties, of these crucial changes as they occur.
BOEM Announces Next Steps for Proposed Mid-Atlantic Wind Energy Transmission Line
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has announced that it is taking the next steps in the review for a potential Mid-Atlantic Wind Energy Transmission Line. Atlantic Grid Holdings LLC has requested a right-of-way grant to develop the Atlantic Wind Connection, a proposed high-voltage direct current transmission line that would collect power generated by offshore wind facilities and deliver it to the regional high-voltage grid. The proposed electrical transmission system would enable up to 7,000 megawatts of wind turbine capacity to be delivered to the grid.
The bureau is asking whether other developers are interested in constructing transmission facilities in this area. BOEM is also seeking comments on the potential environmental consequences of a renewable energy transmission line on the Outer Continental Shelf, off the coasts of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
“This proposal to build a ‘backbone’ for an offshore electrical transmission system is an encouraging sign that there is significant interest in developing the infrastructure to support offshore wind development,” said BOEM Director Tommy P. Beaudreau. “We will conduct the appropriate analyses to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of issuing renewable energy right-of-way grants.”
The proposed transmission line would be constructed in phases to connect offshore wind power to the grid based on the company’s anticipated timing of offshore wind generation. A right-of-way grant occupies a corridor 200 feet wide, centered on the cable. The right-of-way grant corridor is anticipated to extend approximately 820 statute miles and full construction would take approximately 10 years.
All interested parties are asked to provide information about site conditions and multiple uses within the area that would be relevant to the proposed project or its environmental and socioeconomic impacts. A map of the area proposed and a copy of the application is available at: http://www.BOEM.gov/offshore/RenewableEnergy/StateActivities-RegionalProposals.htm.
The public notice requesting competitive interest and inviting public comment is available at: http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/public-inspection/index.html. Once published in the Federal Register, comments and competitive interest submissions are accepted for 60 days in one of the following ways:
Electronically: http://www.boem.gov/About-BOEM/Public-Engagement/Public-Engagement-Opportunities.aspx. Click on the “Public Comment” link and follow the instructions to submit public comments and to view supporting and related materials.
In written form, delivered to: Program Manager, Office of Renewable Energy (HM 1328); Bureau of Ocean Energy Management; 381 Elden Street; Herndon, Virginia 20170–4817.
For more information on BOEM’s Renewable Energy program, visit: http://www.boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Program/Index.aspx.
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