The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) recent order related to issuing a preliminary permit for a 200- to 400-buoy wave energy project off Newport has come as a surprise.
According to a posting on a blog, mendocoastcurrent.wordpress.com, this move calls into question FERC’s intentions of adhering to a memorandum of understanding previously negotiated with Oregon to give the state greater siting power over wave energy projects in the territorial sea. In March 2008, FERC and Oregon signed a memorandum designed to “coordinate the procedures and schedules for review of wave energy projects.”
Another concern is related to Ocean Power Technologies (OPT), which is working on approval of two sites: a 10-buoy project off of Gardiner and a 200-buoy project off of the North Spit.
OPT spokesman Len Bergstein told the News-Times: “We have no plans to move the (Newport) project forward at this time. We will pull back and focus our attention on the other two projects.”
Also, the announcement by FERC has reportedly irked Lincoln County officials, who took unprecedented steps in 2005 to stave off such possibilities.
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