The Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology in Maine, USA, has unanimously voted to give the LD 295 bill an ought not to pass recommendation.
The LD 295 bill expands the definition of tidal energy demonstration project set up by the laws governing general permits for tidal energy demonstration projects under Ocean Energy Act to include tidal range projects, which extract energy from the difference in water levels in a marine enclosure, such as dam, barrage or impoundment system.
Under the proposed bill, the net installed generating capacity of tidal demonstration projects would be increased from 5 MW to 25 MW as well.
The Quoddy Tides, a local newspaper, reports that during the testimony the public advocate Timonthy Schneider stated that one project, the Pennamaquan tidal project proposed by Halcyon Tidal Power, would benefit if the bill was approved, and that the bill amends the Ocean Energy Act ‘to fit this single developer’s preferred project size and contact structure’.
The potential regulatory conflict was also mentioned during the Committee’s workshop in terms of Ocean Energy Act being created as an agreement between the state and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Ocean Energy Act does not include dam, barrages and impoundment systems for tidal energy projects, and as such, if the state was to pass the LD 295 bill it would be in conflict with FERC’s licensing laws, the Quoddy Tides reports.
The next legislative step under the Maine’s path of legislation is the second reading where the floor amendments to the bill may be offered.
[mappress mapid=”301″]
Image: maine.gov