3. Key Regulatory Challenges
• Siting/Permitting
– Agency Players & Process
– Timing
• Interconnection to Grid
– FERC Process
– Timing
– Who Pays for What?
**New Regulatory Framework
With New Agencies and New Laws
4. Alphabet Soup –
Hydrokinetics & Offshore Wind
• Agency Players
– Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
• FPA Part I & sections 205/206
– Department of the Interior – Minerals Management Service
• OCSLA (added by Section 388 EPAct 2005)
– States
• State Siting (Ocean Zoning)
• Delegated Federal Laws
– Other - Tribes, FWS, NOAA, NMFS, USCG, ACE, etc.
• Process
– NEPA
– Other – ESA, CWA, CAA
7. Key Siting Considerations
• Understand the Agency
– What's the Process? [NEPA, Pre-Filing, PP, Lease, etc.]
– Long-term Relationship
• Timing
– New Laws and Processes, Impacts, and Agencies
– Coordinating Multiple Disparate Processes Essential
– Education
8. Interconnection Process
1. Interconnection vs. Transmission
2. General Process (Order No. 2003)
- Application
- Feasibility Study
- System Impact Study
- Facilities Study
- Interconnection Agreement
3. Interconnection Queue
4. Cost Responsibility
9. Key Regulatory Considerations -
Interconnection Process
• Timing
– Studies – one year or more
– RTO vs. Non-RTO
– Material Modifications
• Who Pays
– Studies
– Tie Line & System Upgrades up to Point of Interconnection
– System Upgrades Beyond Point of Interconnection
• New Models?
10. Takeaways
• Know Your Agency/Agencies
• Focus Intently on Timeline
• Location, Location, Location
• Make Regulatory Decisions Upfront