Offshore Wind: Permitting and Processes

June 23, 2020 | , ::

0620-offshore-wind

As the offshore wind market gains traction, project developers must navigate the environmental review and permitting process, focusing on laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), but they must also manage the various stakeholder issues that can affect the trajectory of a project. Developers and project managers must meet the various legalities, while also creating a solid record of engagement to withstand legal challenges.

This course will bring together offshore wind permitting and environmental experts to discuss best practices to ensure that projects can move smoothly through the permitting process.

Learning Outcomes

This course will provide attendees an opportunity to:

• Review the up-to-the-minute policies for offshore wind permitting
• Get a deep dive into the BOEM process and timelines
• Discuss strategies for successful monitoring and mitigation
• Identify how to leverage lessons learned from the Europeans and other sectors
• Explore best practices for engagement with conflicting ocean users
• Demonstrate best practices and provisions for moving projects through the permitting process

Credits

EUCI is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard. IACET is recognized internationally as a standard development organization and accrediting body that promotes quality of continuing education and training.

EUCI is authorized by IACET to offer 0.6 CEUs for this event.

 

Requirements for Successful Completion of Program

Participants must be in attendance for the entirety of the course to be eligible for continuing education credit.

Instructional Methods

PowerPoint presentations, video, and Q&A will be used in the program.

Tuesday, June 23, 2020 – Central Time

9:00 am – 4:00 pm :: Course Timing

12:00 – 1:00 pm :: Lunch break

Short breaks every hour

Session 1: Project Update and  State of the Industry

Offshore Wind has become a massive industry, but currently there is only one project operational in the United States. What do we know now about the permitting process? How can we leverage lessons learned from the Europeans and the wind sector at large, as well as from other sectors?

• Putting best practices into place
• Data transferability
• BOEM process & timelines

Session 2: Policy & Permitting

What does the law really require for permitting of new offshore wind projects? During this session, instructors will take a deep dive into the current regulations: Many federal laws require decisions to be based on “best-available science”. What does that mean for project developers?  To what extent will permitting offshore projects require new studies? What is required by law versus what might be best practice to avoid unnecessary opposition?

• Incorporating uncertainty and strategic thinking into the planning & permitting process
• The appropriateness of the precautionary principle in the age of climate change
• Monitoring and mitigation

Session 3: Socioeconomic Factors in Offshore Wind Permitting

Another aspect of the permitting process that requires significant attention is proper engagement with conflicting ocean users. This session will outline best practices to involve and engage NGOs, as well as how to best address issues with existing ocean users/uses such as:

• Fishing
• Department of Defense
• Existing subsea cables and transit routes
• Tribal concerns

Q&A

Jason Busch, Executive Director, Pacific Ocean Energy Trust

Jason Busch is Executive Director of the Pacific Ocean Energy Trust (POET), an organization that supports the responsible development of marine energy on the West Coast. Mr. Busch is also a co-chair of the Marine Energy Council, the national trade group for the marine hydrokinetic energy sector. He is also on the Energy Trust of Oregon’s Renewable Energy Advisory Committee, Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development Territorial Sea Plan Rulemaking Project Committee, the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center Advisory Council, and the Department of State Lands Rulemaking Advisory Committee. He has multiple publications, including a chapter in Climate Change Impacts on Ocean and Coastal Law, published by Oxford University Press.

Prior to joining POET, Mr. Busch was Principal at Sustainable Legal Solutions LLC, where he provided legal services specializing in renewable energy company start-ups and project development. Previously, he was an attorney for Ater Wynne and Stoel Rives in Portland, Oregon.

Justin Klure, Partner, Pacific Energy Ventures

Justin Klure is a managing partner with Pacific Energy Ventures (PEV) a consulting firm focused on project development and technology transfer, utility integration, strategic management, and governmental affairs. PEV specializes in the commercialization of early stage technologies, advancing new market concepts and developing public-private partnerships in the emerging renewable energy sector. Justin has spent the majority of his career delivering new energy technologies into various markets, serving as a senior policy advisor for over ten years at the Oregon Department of Energy.

Sharon Kramer, Senior Fish Ecologist and Principal, H.T. Harvey & Associates

Dr. Sharon Kramer received her Ph.D. in Marine Biology from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and has over 25 years of experience in aquatic ecology and fisheries biology, including extensive field research in marine ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest, California, Australia, and Hawai‘i. Sharon has worked in aquatic resource management and policy as a staff biologist with National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She is a Senior Aquatic Ecologist and Principal at H. T. Harvey & Associates, where she focuses on environmental permitting/licensing, environmental effect assessments, and planning/feasibility studies for marine renewable energy projects.

Sandy Aylesworth, Ocean Advocate, Natural Resources Defense Council

Sandy Aylesworth advocates for policies that protect and restore our oceans. Prior to joining NRDC, she worked on climate change mitigation through the Montreal Protocol at the U.S. Department of State and was a Knauss Marine Policy Fellow at NOAA’s Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs. Over the course of her nine-year career as a captain and mate, she became intimately familiar with the oceans on voyages in French Polynesia, Mexico, the United States, and the Caribbean. Aylesworth also served in the U.S. Antarctic Program on seven oceanographic cruises. She holds a master’s of environmental management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a 500 Ton Ocean Master license.

Brian Krevor, NEPA Team Lead, BOEM

Brian serves as the team lead for the Office of Renewable Energy Program’s (OREP) environmental coordinators.  Brian has led multidisciplinary teams of BOEM subject-matter experts in the preparation and review of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other environmental compliance documents for wind energy projects offshore Massachusetts (including the Vineyard Wind Draft Environmental Impact Statement) and North Carolina. Brian is currently the environmental lead for the Ocean Wind project offshore New Jersey.  In addition, he serves as the OREP lead for compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA). Brian has also managed several studies examining the visual and socioeconomic impacts of offshore wind facilities.  

Thomas Gates, Ph.D., Tribal Liaison, California Energy Commission  

Dr. Thomas Gates is the Tribal Liaison for the Tribal Progam at the California Energy Commission. He works to ensuring effective consultation between the Energy Commission and tribes to advance the Energy Commission’s mission and provide meaningful tribal input into the development of regulations, rules, policies, plans, and activities that may affect them.

Our courses are designed to be the best possible use of your valuable time – get the information you need to improve your position in the market in an interactive, dynamic format.

We will be using Microsoft Teams to facilitate your participation in the upcoming event. You do not need to have an existing Teams account in order to participate in the broadcast – the course will play in your browser and you will have the option of using a microphone to speak with the room and ask questions, or type any questions in via the chat window and our on-site representative will relay your question to the instructor.

• You will receive a meeting invitation will include a link to join the meeting.
• Separate meeting invitations will be sent for the morning and afternoon sessions of the course.
  • You will need to join the appropriate meeting at the appropriate time.
• If you are using a microphone, please ensure that it is muted until such time as you need to ask a question.
• The remote meeting connection will be open approximately 30 minutes before the start of the course. We encourage you to connect as early as possible in case you experience any unforeseen problems.

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Offshore Wind: Permitting and Processes

June 23, 2020 | ,

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