Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Energy Policy Act of 2005’

Offshore Data Centers: Rigs-to-Resistors!

Posted in decommissioning, energy policy, tagged , , , , , on March 30, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Linked-in: solving what matters most

The Rigs-to-Resistors category in our World Famous Rigs-to-Reefs +++ list has been expanded to include offshore data centers, a concept that is attracting investor interest (see attached brochure).

Advantages of offshore data centers include power availability (natural gas, hydro-kinetic, wind, solar), cooling water, sovereignty, and growth potential.

Alternative uses of OCS facilities were authorized by an OCS Lands Act amendment drafted by the Minerals Management Service and attached to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 by Congresswoman Barbara Cubin. The amendment authorized:

“use, for energy-related purposes or for other authorized mariner elated purposes, facilities currently or previously used for activities
authorized under this Act,”

The attachment summarizes plans to install modular data centers on existing offshore platforms. The advocates see “using fixed platforms ready for decommissioning as a low-cost solution with simpler execution.” Are they a bit too optimistic? 😉

Japan has some interesting offshore data center ideas, including the concept pictured below.

ExecSummary-FenrirInfrastructurePartnersDownload

Read Full Post »

OCS Wind Program: the beginning

Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Wind Energy, tagged , , , , , on October 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »

The need for alternate energy/use legislation was obvious to Minerals Management Service (predecessor of BSEE and BOEM) personnel decades ago given the growing interest in renewable energy projects and the reuse of offshore platforms. Twenty years ago, MMS staff took the initiative to draft alternate use amendments to the OCS Lands Act that MMS Director Johnnie Burton and the congressional liaison office worked closely with Congresswoman Barbara Cubin of Wyoming to gain support for the amendments and they were adopted as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005

Attached below are the talking points used by MMS in briefing congressional staff and other agencies. These talking points were spot-on and have endured the test of time.

Read Full Post »

For those who thought offshore wind would be a breeze…

Posted in Offshore Energy - General, Offshore Wind, Wind Energy, tagged , , , on January 12, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Vineyard Wind false start?

Nearly 17 years after the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (incorporating language drafted by Minerals Management Service staff) authorized wind energy projects in Federal offshore waters, commercial offshore wind power is not imminent. Despite enthusiastic political support and promised State and Federal subsidies, no commercial scale offshore wind development has commenced. The groundbreaking ceremony for Vineyard Wind I (pictured above), the first project approved by BOEM, may prove to have been premature. The project faces multiple lawsuits from commercial fishing organizations and an organization concerned about possible impacts to the endangered right whale.

North Atlantic right whale - Whale & Dolphin Conservation USA
North Atlantic Right Whale

Read Full Post »