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marinerenewables Statoil Requests Commercial Wind Lease for Hywind Maine Statoil North America (Houston, Texas) has requested a commercial wind lease to build a demonstration project of full-scale floating wind tur- bine technology offshore Maine, the Department of the Interior announced in August. The proposed Hywind Maine proj- ect, located about 12 nautical miles off the coast, would have a 12-mega- watt production capacity through four wind-turbine generators. The Statoil proposal also responds to a request for proposals issued by the Maine Public Utilities Commission. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Man- agement (BOEM) has been discussing the project with Statoil and is working closely with the Maine Renewable En- ergy Task Force. The next steps of the project include moving forward with environmental review and determin- ing whether there is competitive inter- est from other developers. The bureau seeks public comment in preparation for an environmental impact statement (EIS) that BOEM intends to prepare on Hywind Maine. Comments must be submitted by November 8. Statoil North America submitted an unsolicited application for a commer- cial wind energy lease on the Outer Continental Shelf offshore Maine to BOEM in October 2011. BOEM deter- mined Statoil to be legally qualified in November 2011, and technically and financially qualified in April 2012. The area Statoil has requested for a com- mercial wind lease covers approxi- mately 22 square miles, which could be reduced based on the EIS analysis and other factors. BOEM is asking whether other de- velopers are interested in constructing wind facilities in the same area off the coast of Maine in order to determine whether to proceed with leasing on a competitive or noncompetitive basis. Indications of interest in acquiring a lease for the area proposed by Statoil must be submitted to BOEM by Octo- ber 9. Oceans Could Provide 10 Percent Of Australia's Electricity Ocean renewable energy could supply up to 10 percent of Australia's electricity by 2050, provided there is a price on carbon and the specific technology remains within appropriate capital and operating cost thresholds, according to a report published in July by Australia's Commonwealth Scien- tific and Industrial Research Organisa- tion (CSIRO). Compared to wave-energy devices, the prospects for large-scale deploy- ment of tidal- and ocean-energy de- vices and systems are less likely to penetrate the market before 2050, the report found. Australia's wave-energy resources are concentrated along the country's southern coastline. For example, the total wave energy crossing the 25-me- ter-depth isobath between Geraldton and the southern tip of Tasmania is more than 1,300 terawatt-hours per year, about five times the country's total energy requirements. The eco- nomics of energy extraction, transmis- sion, environment and social impacts, among other factors, will determine its future exploitation. 72 st / SEPTEMBER 2012 www.sea-technology.com