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www.sname.org/sname/mt October 2012 s P R O J E C T S W I L L B E R E M O V A B L E A N D A B L E T O S H U T D O W N O N S H O R T N O T I C E A N D W I L L B E R E M O V E D W I T H S I T E R E S T O R E D B E F O R E T H E E N D O F T H E L I C E N S E T E R M U N L E S S A N E W L I C E N S E I S G R A N T E D A N D s T H E D R A F T A P P L I C A T I O N M U S T B E I N A F O R M S U F l C I E N T T O S U P P O R T E N V I R O N - M E N T A L A N A L Y S I S A N D I N C L U D E P R O P O S E D M O N I T O R I N G P L A N S The licensing pipeline provides some insight into the health of the industry because it shows projects where a developer has begun the regulatory process in earnest. A prelimi- nary permit is the rst phase of the licensing process. Per FERC guidelines, A permit main- tains priority of application for a license at a site for up to three years while the permit holder studies project feasibility and prepares an application for license. A preliminary per- mit does not authorize project construction or operation, nor does it provide special access to the site, but it does prevent another party from acquiring a license (or permit) for the same site during the term of the permit.? FERC maintains a frequently updated database on their Web site that provides a quick snapshot of MHK licensing activity in the U.S. To date, 113 preliminary permits have been issued (27 tidal, 4 wave, 82 inland) representing 17,568 MW of capacity. At pres- ent, there are 62 projects in the pre-ling phase for a license, representing 7,256 MW. ree projects (2 tidal, 1 wave) totaling 2.6 MW, have successfully moved beyond the preliminary licensing phases and submitted their pilot license applications. Pilot license application is a signicant milestone and represents the culmination of an intense engineering and environmental compli- ance eort by the developers. 2012 has been an important year for MHK in the U.S., with a number of sig- nificant announcements being made. In January, FERC issued its rst pilot project license for a tidal energy project. Verdant Powers Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy Project is 1,050 kW and is located in New York Citys East River. In February, FERC issued a pilot project license to Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC) for its 300 kW Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project near Eastport, Maine. Another signicant announcement came in April when the Maine Public Utility Commission approved the primary contract terms of power pur- chase agreements (PPAs) for ORPCs Maine Tidal Energy Project. is landmark order paves the way for commercialization of tidal power in Maine and directs three electrical utilities to negotiate the rst long-term PPAs for tidal energy in the U.S. e rst unit is being deployed now and is expected to be online before the end of the year. Worldwide status of industry Worldwide, MHK continues to grow and is attracting more and more attention from utilities, government, and industry. Given the worldwide eorts to harness the earths tremendous MHK resources, international collaboration is critical in helping to pre- vent mistakes being repeated. e Ocean Energy Systems Implementing Agreement (OES) is an intergovernmental collaboration between countries, which operates under framework established by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris. OES was launched in 2001 and has initiated the development of a number of research top- ics (referred to as annexes with its member nations). To date, OES has succeeded in establishing ve Annexes: Annex I: Review, Exchange and Dissemination of Information on Ocean Energy Systems Annex II: Development of Recommended Practices for Testing and Evaluating Ocean Energy Systems Annex III: Integration of Ocean Energy Plants into Distribution and Transmission Electrical Grids Annex IV: Assessment of Environmental Eects and Monitoring Eorts for Ocean Wave, Tidal, and Current Energy Systems Columbia Power Technologies SeaRay device being tested in Puget Sound.