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Posts Tagged ‘MendoCoastCurrent’

MendoCoastCurrent, October 3, 2009
On May 4, 1970, 67 bullets were fired at protesting anti-Viet Nam war students on the Kent State University campus. The 13-second discharge of the Ohio National Guard weapons devastatingly concluded four days of protests with the death of four and wounding of nine young American students.
In courtrooms over the next 10 [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, October 2, 2009
AW-Energy, a Finnish renewable energy company developer of WaveRoller, a patented wave energy technology, has signed a $4.4M (3 million euros) contract with the European Union to demonstrate its technology.
The contract between AW-Energy and the EU is the first one under the “CALL FP7 – Demonstration of the innovative full size systems.” [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, September 21, 2009
The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced that it is providing $14.6 million in funding for 22 water power projects to move forward in the commercial viability, market acceptance and environmental performance of new marine and hydrokinetic technologies as well as conventional hydropower plants.
The selected projects will further the nation’s supply of [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, June 30, 2009
U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu is making available over $32 million in Recovery Act funding to modernize the existing hydropower infrastructure in the U.S., increase efficiency and reduce environmental impact.
His  announcement supports the deployment of turbines and control technologies to increase power generation and environmental stewardship at existing non-federal hydroelectric [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, June 19, 2009
The United States Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today adopted legislation to include key provisions of the Marine Renewable Energy Promotion Act (Senate Act 923).
In response, the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition (OREC) commended Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Ranking Member Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) for including the marine energy provisions to [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, June 17, 2009
The West has been at the forefront of the country’s development and implementation of renewable energy technologies, leading the way in passing effective Renewable Portfolio Standards and harnessing the region’s significant renewable energy resources. The initiatives announced at the recent annual western governors’ meeting offered a collaboration of federal and state efforts [...]

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Editor’s Note: More current information at Re-examine Kent State Now; Let’s Finally Get the Truth Out Now! calling for a truth commission, symposium and expo at the 40th Anniversary this coming May 2010.  Read more from Laurel Krause & Delaney Brown on Kent State & Allison Krause, The Aftermath of Loss, Becoming Galvanized.
MendoCoastCurrent, May [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, May 23, 2009
Alan Canfora, one of nine student protestors wounded at Kent State, recounts and explains the political and social reasons behind the Kent State Massacre on May 4, 1970:
“We protested May 1st through May 4, 1970 mainly against the US invasion of Cambodia.
After the Ohio National Guard invaded our Kent State campus (approximately [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, May 20, 2009
At this core energy technology incubator, energy policy is created as renewable energy technologies and science move swiftly from white boards and white papers to testing, refinement and implementation.
The Vision
Mendocino Energy is located on the Mendocino coast, three plus hours north of San Francisco/Silicon Valley. On the waterfront of Fort Bragg, utilizing [...]

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Editors Note:  On June 9, 2009, PG&E filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) a petition to release the Mendocino WaveConnect preliminary permit.
MendoCoastCurrent, May 11, 2009
In early May 2009, PG&E’s WaveConnect team decided to cancel the Mendocino WaveConnect project because the Noyo Harbor didn’t pass muster and was deemed insufficient in several engineering aspects, [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, April 23, 2009
In Octoberr 2008 Grays Harbor Ocean Energy applied for seven Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) preliminary permits for projects located in the Atlantic Ocean about 12 to 25 miles offshore off the coasts of New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, and in the Pacific Ocean about 5 to 30 miles off the coasts [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, April 17, 2009
San Francisco – PG&E has begun exploring renewable energy from space as it seeks approval from California state regulators, the CPUC, to purchase power from Solaren Corporation offering 200 megawatts over 15 years.
Solaren’s technology uses solar panels in Earth orbit, converting the energy to radio frequency for transmission to an Earth-based receiving station. The [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, March 25, 2009

Aquamarine Power has signed a $2.7 million contract with Fugro Seacore to install their wave energy generator, the Oyster, at the European Marine Energy Center.
Aquamarine’s Oyster converter is designed for waters that are from 26-52 feet deep with anticipated installation 550 yards offshore in the second half of 2009.  The Oyster has [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, March 20, 2009
Yesterday the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), led by Chairman Jon Wellinghoff, filed this FERC Smart Grid Policy Statement introducing a proposed Smart Grid, interoperability standards with an interim period rate plan.  FERC has invited comments by May 1, 2009. 
FERC offered this summary:
This proposed policy statement and action plan provides guidance to inform [...]

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Editor’s Note:  On September 21, 2009 FERC Commissioner Suedeen Kelly declined a nomination to serve a second term on the panel. Kelly, a Democratic commissioner nominated by President Obama, said she was leaving her post for the private sector.  A FERC spokeswoman said Kelly would remain in her seat until Congress adjourns later this year.
In [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, March 11, 2009
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that he has just signed his first order establishing renewable energy generation as the top priority of the Department of the Interior. Following President Obama’s lead in steering the United States into this new energy path, he said this agenda would create jobs and grow [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, February 14, 2009
Acting Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Jon Wellinghoff recently published Facilitating Hydrokinetic Energy Development Through Regulatory Innovation. 
Consider it required reading as a backgrounder on US wave energy policy development, FERC’s position on the MMS in renewables and FERC’s perceived role as a government agency in renewable energy, specifically marine energy, development.
Missing from this key [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent from Platts Energy Podium, February 12, 2009
The recently approved Economic Stimulus Plan includes expanding the US electric transmission grid and this may be the just the start of what will be a costly effort to improve reliability and deliver renewable energy to consumers from remote locations, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Acting Chairman Jon [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, February 11, 2009
President Obama chose two Silicon Valley notables as members of his new Economic Recovery Advisory Board.  The 15-member board shall advise Obama on decisions about the US economy and announced to spur Congress into passing legislation for his economic stimulus plan.
President Obama said he created a panel of outside advisers to enlist [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, February 10, 2009
E.On is moving forward to install and test a single wave device to be fully operational in 2010. Based around a single 750kW Pelamis P2 device that is currently being built in Edinburgh, it will be installed and tested at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney.  
The first year of technology [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, January 31, 2009
On January 26, 2009, Lockheed Martin and Ocean Power Technologies agreed to work together to develop a commercial-scale wave energy project off the coasts of Oregon or California.
OPT is providing their expertise in project and site development as they build the plant’s power take-off and control systems with their PowerBuoy for electricity [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, January 29, 2009
At his first White House press conference, President Obama declared “the days of Washington dragging its heels are over” and ordered an immediate review of the Bush administration’s refusal to give California authority to enforce tougher emission and fuel efficiency standards on gas and diesel automobiles.
For more than two years California [...]

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Editors Note:  On May 11, 2009, PG&E pulled-out of Mendocino WaveConnect, read it here: http://tinyurl.com/qwlbg6 . The remains of the $6M are now solely allocated to Humboldt WaveConnect.
MendoCoastCurrent, January 29, 2009
PG&E caught a major renewable energy wave today as the California Public Utilities Commission approved $4.8 million in funding their centerpiece wave energy [...]

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Please Take Action By MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2009 before 2:00 pm!
MendoCoastCurrent, January 29, 2009
Just a couple of weeks ago, Ann Miles, Director of Hydropower Licensing at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission visited the Mendocino coast.  The centerpiece of her presentation on January 13, 2009 at Fort Bragg Town Hall was to explain the FERC Hydokinetic [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, January 29, 2009
As the Monday, February 9, 2009 before 2 p.m. deadline for filing FERC Motion to Intervene papers regarding the Green Wave LLC wave energy preliminary permit off the Mendocino village coast approaches, locals, the City of Fort Bragg and fishing organization are participating and electronically filing their views with FERC.
Here’s the excellent [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, January 28, 2009
To Keep Momentum, AWEA Calls for Quick Approval of the Obama Stimulus Package
The massive growth in 2008 swelled the nation’s total wind power generating capacity by 50% and channeled an investment of some $17 billion into the economy, positioning wind power as one of the leading sources of new power generation in [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, January 27, 2009
Washington, D.C. — On January 23, 2009, President Barack Obama has named Jon Wellinghoff acting chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Wellinghoff responded that he looks forward to serving the president and the nation in this capacity.
“I thank President Obama for the opportunity to lead FERC at a time when [...]

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Let Your Voice Be Heard by March 23, 2009
by MendoCoastCurrent and pointarenabasin
Beginning January 22, 2009 and ending on March 23, 2009, a 60-day Public Comment Period opened regarding new offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling in the pristine waters off northern California.
And while this is a multi-step process and before things are cast in stone, NOW [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, January 23, 2009
Marine Current Turbines Ltd, the Bristol based UK tidal energy company, in now in partnership Canada’s Minas Basin Pulp and Power Company Ltd to demonstrate and develop tidal power technology and facilities in Canada’s Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia. Minas Basin Pulp and Power Company Limited (MBPP) of Hantsport, Nova Scotia is [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, January 15, 2008
Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton today launched the Business, Environment and Social Responsibility (BESR) Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, offering “Sustainability Meets Entrepreneurship,” a new Friday forum series designed to provide UW students and members of the community access to experts on clean technology and alternative energy.
“This new program [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, January 17, 2009
Here’s the post from MendoCoastCurrent in the Citizen’s Briefing Book at President-elect Barack Obama’s change.gov site:
Renewable Energy Development (RED) federal task force
Immediately establish and staff a Renewable Energy Development (RED) federal task force chartered with exploring and fast-tracking the development, exploration and commercialization of environmentally-sensitive renewable energy solutions in solar, wind, wave, green-ag, et [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, January 17, 2009
Today at the Citizen’s Briefing Book at President-elect Barack Obama’s change.gov site, I shared this:
Renewable Energy Development (RED) federal task force
Immediately establish and staff a Renewable Energy Development (RED) federal task force chartered with exploring and fast-tracking the development, exploration and commercialization of environmentally-sensitive renewable energy solutions in solar, wind, wave, green-ag, [...]

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CBS 5 with MendoCoastCurrent edits, January 8, 2009
New legislation may prevent oil drilling off the California coast in Sonoma, Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties.
Growing concern about the nation’s reliance on foreign oil has led to rekindled enthusiasm in some quarters for coastal oil drilling, and renewed efforts to protect the Northern California coast.
Two bills [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, January 8, 2009
Key President-elect Barack Obama renewable energy quotes from his January 8, 2009 speech to the U.S. Congress and citizens, on his top economic priorities as he takes office.
“. . .the first question that each of us asks isn’t ‘what’s good for me?’ but ‘what’s good for the country my children will inherit?”
On [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, January 7, 2009
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Joseph T. Kelliher today issued the following statement:
Today I announce my intention to step down as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), effective January 20, 2009. Although my term as commissioner does not end until 2012, I will also immediately begin to recuse myself from [...]

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Science Daily, December 20, 2008
MIT researchers are working with Portuguese colleagues to design a pilot-scale device that will capture significantly more of the energy in ocean waves than existing systems, and use it to power an electricity-generating turbine.
Wave energy is a large, widespread renewable resource that is environmentally benign and readily scalable. In some locations [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, December 14, 2008
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called for a “solar revolution” on Sunday as he unveiled plans to bring forward a A$500 million (US$329 million) fund promoting renewable energy in a bid to stimulate the economy.
Speaking just a day before a key announcement on Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions targets, Rudd said the fund’s [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, December 9, 2008
DONG Energy and Wind Estate A/S opened the second stage of Overgård wind farm on December 2, 2008. With the construction of 10 new wind turbines next to 20 existing turbines, Overgård will now be Denmark’s largest onshore wind farm.
The wind farm, situated approx. 25 km northwest of Randers in East Jutland, [...]

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MendoCoastCurent, December 9, 2008
SRI International, an independent, nonprofit research and development organization, demonstrated and tested a buoy-mounted, wave powered generator in the ocean near Santa Cruz, Calif. This demonstration was part of a program sponsored by HYPER DRIVE Corporation, a Japanese company focused on the development of wave powered generators around the world. The generator [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, December 8, 2008
In late October 2008 Michigan-based Cascade Engineering launched the Swift Wind Turbine in North America.
“With rising energy costs and increased environmental consciousness, we’ve seen more people turning to small wind. For the past several months, we’ve been inundated with requests for the Swift before we’ve even launched the product” said Michael Ford, [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, November 21, 2008
San Francisco — Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced that it has entered into a long-term agreement with Hatchet Ridge Wind LLC, a subsidiary of Babcock & Brown, to purchase up to 103 megawatts (MW) of wind energy. The project will generate up to 303 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy annually. This [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, November 17, 2008
Announcements and short biographies of Obama’s Team Leads that oversee renewable energy policy development and associated agencies.
Energy and Natural Resources Team Lead
David J. Hayes is a member of the Obama-Biden Transition Project’s Agency Review Working Group responsible for the energy and natural resources agencies. He is former Global Chair of the Environment, [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, November 18, 2007
Developing Wave Energy in Coastal California: Potential Socio-Economic and Environmental Effects, authored by a team of scientists from H.T. Harvey and Associates, UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory, UC Santa Cruz, the Farallon Institute for Advanced Ecosystem Research, Planwest Partners and Humboldt State University, and jointly funded by the California Ocean Protection Council and the California [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, November 9, 2008
MendoCoastCurrent applauds Frank Hartzell’s reporting in the Fort Bragg Advocate-News and the Mendocino Beacon, and in winning reporting awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association’s Better Newspapers Contest for work published in 2007. The awards were recently announced at CNPA’s annual awards luncheon in late October 2008.
Reporter Frank Hartzell’s on-going, in-depth and [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, October 13, 2008
A new prototype of a wave energy device being developed by Oregon State University and Columbia Power Technologies was successfully tested last month in the ocean off Newport, Oregon, providing valuable data and moving the research program closer to commercialization.
In a $1 million research effort during the past year, 18 different “direct [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, October 23, 2008
A new hybrid inorganic/organic material could usher in solar cells that absorb all solar wavelengths. Researchers have created a new material that overcomes two of the major obstacles to solar power: it absorbs all the energy contained in sunlight, and generates electrons in a way that makes them easier to capture.
Ohio State [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, October 16, 2008
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) claimed that it has jurisdiction over hydroelectric projects located on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), pointing to laws that define its role.
FERC addressed the jurisdictional question, raised by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Mineral Management Service (MMS), in the context of a rehearing order on [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, September 9, 2008
Saying the nation’s energy situation has dramatically changed in the past year, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today jumpstarted the development of a new oil and natural gas leasing program for the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.  The action could give the next administration a two-year head start in expanding energy production [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, September 4, 2008
The American Wind Energy Association released today that the U.S. wind industry has surpassed the 20,000-megawatt (MW) installed capacity milestone, achieving in two years what had previously taken more than two decades (the 10,000-MW mark was reached in 2006).  Wind now provides 20,152 MW of electricity generating capacity in the U.S., producing [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, August 22, 2008
Raser Technologies joined with New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, former United States Secretary of Energy, to announce the beginning of the construction phase of the first commercial geothermal power project in New Mexico. Raser Chairman Kraig Higginson introduced Raser’s geothermal power project at Lightning Dock near Animas, New Mexico along with its [...]

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MendoCoastCurent, August 12, 2008
Last Friday the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released its latest denial for a rehearing on the Mendocino Wave Energy project on the Northern California coast.
The denied Petitioners include Fishermen Interested in Safe Hydrokinetics (FISH) with Attorney Elizabeth Mitchell, Mendocino County, Fort Bragg, Lincoln County in Oregon and others representing concerned citizens, [...]

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MADDALENA JACKSON with MendoCoastCurrent edit, The Sacramento Bee, August 11, 2008
Oil companies, some politicians and commuters paying $4 for a gallon of gas might look at California’s coast and think of crude oil pooled below the sea floor.
California’s North Coast, however, holds promise of another energy bounty.
In less time than it would take to fire [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, August 6, 2008
In humanity’s more than 100,000 year history, we have evolved from vulnerable creatures clawing sustenance from Earth to a sophisticated global society manipulating every inch of it. In short, we have become the dominant animal. Why, then, are we creating a world that threatens our own species? What can we do to [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, July 9, 2008
ACT NOW! – ‘MMS Rulemaking’ Public Review & Comments Accepted Thru September 8, 2008
The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) has published a proposed rule in the Federal Register that will regulate alternative energy production activities and alternate uses of existing facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The [...]

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MendoCoastCurrent, July 8, 2008

Act Now! Related ‘MMS Rulemaking’ Public Review & Comments Accepted Thru September 8, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC – The Minerals Management Service (MMS) announced today that it is proceeding with the consultation and analyses necessary to move toward the issuance of limited leases under its interim policy for authorizing alternative energy data collection [...]

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