Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, and Army Corps of Engineers Sign Memorandum of Understanding for Hydropower
By Chad Marriott
Stoel Rives LLP, Attorneys at Law
On March 24, 2010, three federal agencies announced a Memorandum of Understanding for Hydropower (the “MOU”) that impacts developers of traditional hydropower, hydrokinetic, pumped storage, and small-scale hydropower facilities. The Department of Energy (“DOE”), the Department of the Interior (“DOI”), and the Department of the Army, through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“USACE”) (collectively, the “Agencies”), signed the MOU to “meet the Nation’s needs for reliable, affordable, and environmentally sustainable hydropower by building a long-term working relationship, prioritizing similar goals, and aligning ongoing and future renewable energy development efforts” between the agencies. The MOU comes at a time when industry representatives and eleven U.S. Senators are requesting that DOE support a $200 million appropriations request for the advancement of both conventional and advanced waterpower technologies.
In this “new approach to hydropower,” the Agencies intend to focus their collective efforts on advancing sustainable, low-impact, and small hydropower projects and promoting the goal of energy efficiency through water conservation or improved water management. Operating under the MOU, the Agencies will work together to advance four primary objectives:
* Support the maintenance and sustainable optimization of existing Federal and non-Federal hydropower projects;
* Elevate the goal of increased hydropower generation as a priority of each Agency to the extent permitted by their respective statutory authorities;
* Promote energy efficiency; and
* Ensure that new hydropower generation is implemented in a sustainable manner.
For more information on the MOU, including potential next steps for the Agencies, read the Energy Law Alert by Stoel Rives attorneys Cherise Oram, Michael O’Connell, and Chad Marriott posted here.
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