People are talking about
Ocean Energy for New England
By Maggie L. Merrill
Ocean energy, including offshore wind, wave and tidal, is the hot topic these days as evidenced by the wide range of exhibitions, workshops, technical sessions and conferences devoted to the prospects for ocean energy in US waters. "Just a year ago," said Marine Renewable Energy Center (MREC) Director, John Miller, "ocean energy was not even on the agenda." Now everyone from the Governor to the next president of the United States is talking about it and there were four conference in Massachusetts and Rhode Island in just the month of October addressing it." According to Miller, "Our job here at the Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Center (ATMC) over the past year has been to respond to this interest by forming a consortium of academia, industry, government and public interest groups to help us design MREC to make it effective in accelerating the growth of this new industry. We are trying to secure support to unleash a frenzy of site specific studies, engineering studies, public policy investigations and permitting process guides to figure out how much ocean energy there is in NE waters. Progress has been remarkable." At the October 6, Ocean Energy for New England Conference held at the ATMC in Fall River, UMass Dartmouth Chancellor, Jean MacCormack said that "We must learn from our colleagues in Scotland and others in the European Union who have done all the leg work in terms of testing and eliminating various technologies. We should not spend precious resources, re-inventing the wheel. Our charge here today should be to learn as much as possible from each other." She also mentioned that tight budgetary times call for unprecedented collaborations and cooperation between partners in academia, industry and government. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is leading the country with its recently legislated Ocean Management
Congressman James McGovern expressed his desire to work with the Massachusetts Congressional Delagation early next year to promote the growth of the ocean energy industry in the Commonwealth and throughout the region.
MA Department of Energy Resources Commissioner, Philip Guidice reinforced the Patrick administration's goal to "do whatever it takes" to build the renewable energy industry in the Commonwealth; which definitely includes ocean renewables. (Photo Credit: UMass Dartmouth)
36 MTR
November/December 2008
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