Federal Marine Spatial Planning: West Coast Update

Pursuant to the National Ocean Policy Executive Order, state and regional ocean planning bodies around the US are undergoing marine spatial planning efforts. Marine spatial planning can inform and help guide marine ocean energy planning and is an important tool to guide offshore renewable energy development.

The Northeast and Atlantic regions recently completed their marine spatial plans. The West Coast Regional Planning Body is gathering data and preparing to draft a marine spatial plan. In this webinar, panelists discussed the regional planning effort, its effect on marine renewable energy development, and how stakeholders can engage in this effort. Panelists also briefly discussed how Rhode Island’s lead in ocean planning helped Deepwater Wind efficiently navigate permitting for its Block Island Wind Farm and how it helped the project gain public support. Other states in the US are looking to conduct similar site assessments to help de-risk offshore wind development and lower costs.

Panelists:

• Jason Busch, Executive Director, Pacific Ocean Energy Trust
• Andy Lanier, Marine Affairs Coordinator, Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development
• Jennifer Hennessey, Senior Ocean Planner, Shorelands & Environmental Assistance Program, Washington State Department of Ecology
• John Hansen, Coordinator, West Coast Regional Planning Body

Moderator: Val Stori, Project Director, Clean Energy Group/ Clean Energy States Alliance

Learn more about the West Coast Regional Planning Body at www.westcoastmarineplanning.org, or in a pdf fact sheet here.

This webinar was a presentation of the Offshore Wind Accelerator Project (OWAP), in partnership with the Pacific Ocean Energy Trust (POET).