California and FERC sign MOU on Wave Energy
Memorandum of Understanding between California and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Regarding Coordinated Review of Hydrokinetic Facility Authorizations in California Marine Waters
The California Natural Resources Agency, the California Environmental Protection Agency, and the California Public Utilities Commission have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to coordinate their review of hydrokinetic (wave and tidal) energy projects in California state waters. The MOU ensures that FERC and California will confer early and often to identify potential issues and to set a schedule to process permit applications.
Under the MOU, officials at FERC and in California agree to the following with respect to hydrokinetic energy projects:
- They will notify each other when one becomes aware of a potential applicant for a preliminary permit, pilot project license or license;
- They will encourage applicants to seek pilot project licenses prior to a full commercial license to allow adequate testing of untested devices or device operations before commercial deployment;
- They will coordinate the environmental reviews of any proposed projects in California state waters. FERC and California also will consult with stakeholders, including project developers, on the design of studies and environmental matters; and
- If California prepares siting guidelines or a comprehensive plan for the siting of hydrokinetic projects, FERC will take this plan into consideration when issuing a license for any hydrokinetic project.
The Memorandum of Understanding
The FERC press release
For more information on OPC’s involvement in offshore wave energy, see the OPC Offshore Wave Energy web page here.
