COULD THE OCEANS PRODUCE THE ENERGY THAT MAY YET SAVE OCEAN LIFE AND AVERT CLIMATIC CATASTROPHE?

Recent events have raised great concerns that climate change may be developing a momentum that could soon prove irreversible. A commentary on this site recently pointed to a grim prospect of a breakdown in the marine food chain due to over-harvesting of fish and shellfish, marine pollution, coral die-off, rising sea surface temperatures, and ocean acidification.

Yet a presentation on January 10, 2007 at a seminar on the Future of Ocean Energy convened by the DC Bar Association provided a real glimmer of hope. Mark Spalding, President of The Ocean Foundation, laid out a strong case that emerging energy from the oceans — offshore wind power, energy from tidal flows, ocean currents and wave action — could play a significant role in slowing climate change that might threaten marine life. Spalding is an unabashed advocate of protecting marine life and sensitive ecosystems. He spearheaded an effort supported by a number of major foundations to assess how traditional environmental concerns such as protection of wildlife, fish, marine mammals, and preservation of the marine food chain can be achieved while still tapping the potential of the oceans and near shore estuaries to generate enough alternative energy to make a real dent in greenhouse gas emissions.

As the DC Bar seminar indicated, emerging ocean energy technologies face some daunting problems: the reluctance of investors to invest in seemingly untried technologies, a murky regulatory environment with several federal agencies (the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Minerals Management Service and Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of Interior, the US Army Corp of Engineers, the US Coast Guard and the US Environmental Protection Agency) and numerous state and local bodies having a role in some aspect of the licensing process or in implementing actions, and with many potential private interests in coastal regions averse to anything that might mar their view. The classic case of this Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) problem has been the proposed Cape Wind project off the Massachusetts Coast. This project that proposes to generate about 468 Megawatts of power from wind turbines situated on Horseshoe Shoal off the Coast of Cape Cod is situated within five miles of Hyannis and has aroused concerns from affluent residents of Hyannis and other nearby communities. This resulted in opposition among powerful politicians in both parties that dragged out the approval process. Now, having survived Court challenges and with a Cape Wind proponent, Deval Patrick, in the Massachusetts Governorship, Cape Wind's prospects appear bright, Dennis Duffy, Vice President for Regulatory Affairs of Cape Wind, told the seminar participants.

Some of the emerging energy technologies-tidal, wave and ocean current — may have less of a visual hurdle to overcome than wind and generally will not engender concerns about effects on migratory birds; still they will need to address concerns about effects on fish and marine organisms as well as navigation. They will need clearer rules on regulatory jurisdiction and environmental assessments so that precious investment funds are not frittered on duplicative studies.

Mark Spalding indicated that there are compelling reasons for encouraging the emerging ocean energy technologies. These are set out in some Power Points from his presentation. Spalding also indicated that there may be a need for at least an informal conflict resolution mechanism to bring various stakeholders, including residents of nearby coastal communities, together to ensure that their concerns are addressed by ocean energy developers Such a process, may, he suggested, help encourage large-scale ocean energy development and reduction in greenhouse emissions while ensuring that the projects address legitimate concerns for marine life and other wildlife, recreation and navigation.