Sea to Shining Sea: Ocean Energy Statewide Round-up

Here's a quick round up on some recent developments in the wave and tidal energy arena in the U.S. This article, Utilities to explore power in the tides(Seattle News, 5/9/07) reports on progress by the Snohomish County Public Utility District's investigation of various tidal sites throughout Puget Sound, Washington. Snohomish has recently received eight preliminary permits from the FERC to study the sites.

To the north, in Alaska, there's also strong interest in wave and tidal resources, as reported by this article from the Alaska Journal of Commerce (5/6/07). With diesel fuel now as high as $7 to $9 per gallon in some Alaska community, there's a strong interest in examining alternatives like wave and tidal - and a few projects are under investigation.

Finally to the East, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, lead by Congressman William Delahunt are pushing for the establishment of an offshore energy zone to harness wind, wave and possibly tidal energy between the two islands, as reported in this article (5/9/07). The plan seeks to find an economically feasible way to generate 2,000 megawatts of power, and would work through legislation cosponsored by Mr. Delahunt which would provide extra research money for renewable energy projects.