Salazar Announces Public Workshops on Offshore Renewable Energy Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today 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. All workshops are open to the public and anyone interested in offshore renewable energy production is encouraged to participate.

The Washington, D.C. workshop on June 4, 2009 will be held from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. EDT at the South Interior Building Auditorium, 1951 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. Additional public workshops will be held at the following venues: Norfolk, Virginia on June 8, 2009; Boston, Massachusetts on June 9; New Orleans, Louisiana on June 9; New York, New York on June 10; Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on June 10; Monmouth, New Jersey on June 11; Savannah, Georgia on June 11; Rockport, Maine on June 15; Seattle, Washington on June 24; Portland, Oregon on June 25; and San Francisco, California on June 26. The times and locations for each workshop will be made available on www.mms.gov prior to the event.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 granted the MMS the authority to regulate renewable energy development on the OCS. MMS has exclusive jurisdiction with regard to the production, transportation, or transmission of energy from non-hydrokinetic renewable energy projects, including wind and solar. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will have exclusive jurisdiction to issue licenses for the construction and operation of hydrokinetic projects, including wave and current, but companies will be required to first obtain a lease through MMS.