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 The Alternative Energy
Program oversees development of offshore alternative energy
projects on the OCS. This new activity in the marine environment
requires an assessment of the potential environmental impacts to
resources on the OCS. Through the
Environmental Studies Program
(ESP), MMS
will collect information to be used in this assessment. The
Bureau’s responsibilities include determining and evaluating the effects of OCS
activities on natural, historical, and human resources and the
appropriate monitoring and mitigating of those effects. The
ESP
is required by the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act,
as amended in 1978 (OCSLAA) to provide information for sound
decision-making and management. The ESP conducts research across the
spectrum of the physical, biological and socioeconomic environments as
required by the OCSLA and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA).
The ESP
Alternative Energy
Studies Development Plan for Fiscal Years 2009 – 2011
(241.13 KB PDF file)
identifies information needs for the Alternative Energy Program,
presents profiles of the studies proposed for Fiscal Year 2009 and 2010,
and provides topical areas for Fiscal Year 2011 and beyond.
Additionally, the
Technology Assessment & Research (TA&R) Program is a research
element encompassed by the MMS Regulatory Program. The TA&R Program was
established in the 1970's to ensure that industry operations on the
Outer Continental Shelf incorporated the use of the Best Available and
Safest Technologies subsequently required through the 1978 OCSLA
amendments. The Program supports research associated with operational
safety, engineering standards and pollution prevention.
TA&R studies related to alternative energy and alternate use are
available online.
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Worldwide Synthesis and Analysis of Existing
Information Regarding Environmental Effects of Alternative Energy on
the Outer Continental Shelf Report
(OCS Report MMS 2007-038)
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