Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff signed an agreement last week that
clarifies their agencies' responsibilities for leasing and licensing
renewable energy projects on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.
The Memorandum of Understanding clears up a jursidictional dispute between the two agencies and should accelerate the development of wind, solar, wave, tidal and ocean current energy sources.
The agreement establishes a process through
which Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) and the FERC will
lease, license and regulate all renewable energy development activities
on the Outer Continental Shelf, including hydrokinetic sources (wave,
tidal and ocean current).
Under the agreement MMS has exclusive
jurisdiction over non-hydrokinetic renewable energy projects,
including wind and solar. MMS also has exclusive jurisdiction to issue
leases, easements, and rights-of-way regarding Outer Continental Shelf
lands for hydrokinetic projects. MMS will conduct any necessary
environmental reviews, including those under the National Environmental
Policy Act, related to those actions.
FERC has exclusive
jurisdiction over hydrokinetic projects on the Outer
Continental Shelf and will conduct any necessary analyses. FERC's licensing process will involve relevant
federal land and resource agencies, including Interior.
FERC will not issue a license or exemption for an Outer Continental
Shelf hydrokinetic project until the applicant has first obtained a
lease, easement, or right-of-way from MMS for the site. FERC will not
issue preliminary permits for hydrokinetic projects on the Outer
Continental Shelf.
MMS in return will require that construction and operation cannot begin without a license or exemption from FERC.
Both agencies may inspect authorized hydrokinetic projects on the Outer
Continental Shelf to ensure compliance with the terms of leases,
easements, rights-of-way, licenses or exemptions.
"This agreement will spur the development of clean, renewable
energy--the growth industry of the 21st Century. Our nation's economic
future demands we lead that competition."
Salazar has made
offshore wind, solar and hydrokinetic energy a top priority and expects
to have a final regulatory framework for Outer Continental Shelf
renewable energy development in the near future.
A copy of the Memorandum of Understanding can be read at the link below.
