7th Marine Law Symposium

A Viable Marine Renewable Industry: Solutions to Legal, Economic, and Policy Challenges
October 23-24, 2008, Bristol, RI

The Marine Law Symposium is a biennial event organized by the Marine Affairs Institute, a partnership between RWU Law, the URI’s Department of Marine Affairs, and the Sea Grant College Program.  This year’s Symposium will explore means to achieve a viable marine renewable energy industry for the United States with a focus on offshore wind; hydrokinetics (wave, current and tidal); and ocean thermal energy conversion. The goal of the Symposium is to identify the challenges facing a viable marine renewable energy industry at the local, state, and federal levels and to describe and evaluate possible solutions to these challenges.

This year’s topic is timely, given R.I. Governor Donald Carcieri’s recent announcement of the successful bidder to develop the state’s first offshore wind farm—Deepwater Wind.  Governor Carcieri will be welcoming attendees on Thursday, October 23rd and will be discussing his mandate of producing 15% of the state’s energy via wind energy by 2015. 

The R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) will discuss their efforts to develop the Ocean Special Area Management Plan (SAMP) which will define use zones for Rhode Island’s offshore waters, making Rhode Island the first state nationally to zone its offshore waters for diverse activities including renewable energy development.  Our Marine Affairs Institute will be instrumental in addressing the legal and policy issues raised by the SAMP.  The attendees will also hear about “lessons learned” from the international participants who have been involved with the development of offshore marine renewable energy projects in their countries. 

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a long-time advocate for the oceans, will address the group on Thursday, highlighting his newly introduced Senate Bill 3515, a proposal to establish four regional institutes as centers of excellence for research, planning, and related efforts to assess and prepare for the impacts of climate change on ocean and coastal areas.  Senator Jack Reed, another supporter of the preservation and restoration of R.I.’s unique coastal resources, will present the Sea Grant Lifetime Achievement Award to Grover Fugate, executive director of CRMC, during the closing reception on Friday, October 24th at 4:30 p.m.

During the Symposium, Dr. Michelle Portman of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Marine Policy Center will blog about the event.  Read more at http://mls.rwu.edu.

For complete Symposium details, please visit
http://law.rwu.edu/sites/marineaffairs/symposia/seventhMLS.aspx