U.S. to pilot licensing process for new hydropower technologies

WASHINGTON, DC, USA, August 22, 2007. Federal regulators in the United States want to license ocean energy technologies within six months.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will convene a technical conference on licensing pilot projects to discuss a staff proposal for a process that could complete licensing for ocean energy hydro technologies in as few as six months. The October conference in Oregon is the latest in a series of measures that FERC has taken in the past year to address intensifying interest in the development of ocean, wave and tidal technologies.

“Perhaps the greatest barrier to realising the potential of new hydrokinetic technologies is that they are unproven,” says chairman Joseph Kelliher. “These technologies must be demonstrated before large scale commercial deployment can occur. Today we take a major step to reduce the barriers to the success of these new hydro technologies, by proposing a simplified licensing process suitable for licensing pilot projects.”

The goal of the staff proposal is to complete the full project licensing process within six months, provide for FERC oversight and input from affected states and other federal agencies, and allow developers to generate electricity while conducting the requisite testing. The process would be available for projects that are less than 5 MW in capacity, removable or able to shut down on relatively short notice, located in waters that have no sensitive designations, and for the purpose of testing new hydro technologies or determining appropriate sites for ocean, wave and tidal energy projects.

“This new generation of hydrokinetic technologies will bring hydropower to the forefront of the renewable energy debate,” adds commissioner Phil Moeller, who will lead the technical conference. “It is generating a lot of enthusiasm throughout the country, particularly in coastal states (and) FERC wants to harness this enthusiasm by exploring ways to reduce the regulatory barriers to realise the amazing potential of this domestic renewable power source - one that can help meet renewable portfolio standards established by states.”

At a conference in December, the Commission was told that hydrokinetic technologies are in a developmental phase, which presents significant risks for developers due to a lack of information about engineering performance and environmental effects, and limited access to financing.

In response to a February ‘Notice of Inquiry’ on preliminary permits for the new technologies, 14 entities addressed the need for a pilot program licensing process. They suggested that FERC address the unique characteristics of pilot projects by permitting connection to the national grid both for study purposes and to generate revenue; implementing a simpler, faster review process; requiring site restoration following experimental deployments; and requiring a license period of five years rather than 50 years.

Click here for more info...

To receive news and features like this direct to your inbox sign-up for the Refocus Weekly enewsletter.

Simply register your details to receive a fortnightly roundup of the latest news from the renewables industries direct to your inbox.

If you would like to advertise in the enewsletter please contact our sales team.

If you have some news for the renewables industry or would like to comment on any of the articles on this site, contact our editorial team.

You can also access the full list of contacts here.