A Seattle-based company has taken the first steps toward regulatory approvals of a wave energy project, possibly with an additional wind energy component, off Moloka`i that could generate up to 100 megawatts of electricity, according to the application filed in late October with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The site, about 12 to 25 miles southeast of Moloka`i, in an area known as Penguin Bank, is one of the most productive grounds for bottomfishing in waters surrounding the Main Hawaiian Islands. The area is also included in the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, but, according to the FERC filing, “the proposed technology of fixed structures cannot entangle whales in cables or lines.”
The application was filed with FERC because it has jurisdiction over projects on the outer continental shelf, or OCS, writes W. Burton Hamner, president of Grays Harbor Ocean Energy Company, LLC, in his cover letter to FERC Secretary Magalie Salas.
Whether any part of submerged lands off Hawai`i could be regarded as a “continental” shelf would seem, on its face, to be a questionable assertion.
“We also understand,” Hamner continues, “that the Minerals Management Service has jurisdiction over leasing of the seabed and that FERC intends to resolve with MMS the appropriate regulatory processes. We applaud this. It is very helpful to have the FERC consultative and license application in place as it is well proven and reduces the risk for developers.”
The MMS “is developing its final rules for leasing of OCS lands for alternative energy production,” the FERC filing states. “Given that FERC has asserted its authority over offshore hydropower (wave and tidal) that leaves MMS with regulation of offshore wind power generation. The project mayt include wind turbines installed on the [wave energy] foundations, and this will require interface and collaboration between FERC and MMS to resolve jurisdictions asnd requirements.”
Hamner says his proposal is not speculative, since “the site proposed has been chosen with highly detailed information regarding its actual power potential and suitability for existing technology. The specific vendors for the major technologies and systems have already been selected.”
A Larger Plan
The Penguin Bank site is one of seven sites for which the company is seeking permits. Others are near San Francisco and Ventura, California; near Cape Cod, Massachusetts; near Block Island in Rhode Island; near the Hamptons in Long Island, New York, and offshore of Atlantic City, New Jersey.
According to the company’s website, it has also been involved in developing a wave power demonstration project in Washington state since 2007, but “a full-scale offshore wind/wave project is not proposed now in Washington because the local energy cost is very low and offshore energy cannot compete with it economically.”
The criteria used for siting the seven projects are listed on the company’s website. They include:
- Electric rates must be in the top 25 percent of rates charged across the country, meaning they must average more than 15 cents per kilowatt hour. (Hawai`i easily meets that criterion, with residential rates of more than twice that in some locations.)
- The state must have significant incentives and requirements for renewable power generation. (Again, Hawai`i has meaningful incentives for development of alternative energy.)
- The site must not be in a commercial shipping navigation lane.
- The site depth must not exceed 250 feet.
Fallout
The proposal for Penguin Bank has not received wide notice in Hawai`i, but not so for proposals for other sites. So extensive has the negative response been that on December 8, Hamner posted an open letter on his website, extending “my apologies for surprising state and local officials and organizations in the states where we have proposed projects. The FERC acted on our applications faster than I think it has ever acted for any applicant before and, frankly, it caught us off guard. We have not had time to contact the political, energy and ocean leaders in our project areas.”
Josh Strickler, an energy analyst with the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, found out about the proposal only in mid-December. Since then, he told Environment Hawai`i, he’s attempted to reach Hamner, but has not had calls returned. “I only know what’s on the web,” he said.
The FERC opened a 60-day public comment period on all seven proposals on November 28. On December 15, the Hawai`i environmental group Life of the Land submitted its request to be granted intervenor status. “Life of the Land’s members are concerned about energy issues, ocean issues, environmental issues, cultural issues, endangered species and increasing transparency of complex governmental procedures,” wrote Henry Q. Curtis, the group’s director, in the FERC filing.
Potential competitors also have 60 days, from November 28, to make their interests known. In his open letter, Hamner says, “FERC surprised us greatly by its rapid response. Our first application took FERC five months to open for comment. This time they did it in five weeks… I personally called FERC and asked them to open the public comment period in January or February, because opening it in December is rather unfair to the public – the holiday season is a big distraction and I don’t think the public and agencies really get a ‘normal’ 60-day comment period if it opens on November 28.”
More information on the project is available at the FERC website: [url=http://www.ferc.gov/industries/hydropower/indus-act/hydrokinetics/permits-pending.asp]http://www.ferc.gov/industries/hydropower/indus-act/hydrokinetics/permits-pending.asp[/url] The project number assigned to the Hawai`i proposal is 13307-000.
The Grays Harbor website is: [url=http://www.graysharboroceanenergy.com]http://www.graysharboroceanenergy.com[/url]
— Patricia Tummons
Volume 19, Number 7 January 2009
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