Page 46: of Marine Technology Magazine (October 2011)

46MTROctober2011 The New England Marine Renewable Energy Center (MREC) will host is third annual technical conference in Boston on November 7-8, 2011. MREC has been bring- ing people together to discuss the many aspects of makingocean energy a reality in the U.S. since 2007. Creating a network of technology developers, regulators, funding and financing groups, local and national stakeholders, MREC is building a foundation for the introduction of ocean energy devices. The theme running through all five of MREC?s stakeholder and technical conferences has been a blending of real world experience transferred directly from European leaders to their U.S. counterparts. What makes this year?s 3rd Annual MREC Technical Conference special are the key note speakers,the breadth of topics to be covered and the fact that it has grown to take place over two full days. This year there will be more than 35 presentations and 10 technical posters; 15 will be presented by graduate students from the U.S. and abroad. These professionals will share their research results on topics related to wave energy and tidal energy systems, numerical modeling, environmental assessment and offshore wind. International perspectives will be addressed by speakers from Ecuador, Scotland, Ireland, UK, Germany, and Norway. Keynotes will be given by industry leaders who will talk about the lessons they have learned by being among the first to put ?steel into the water.? Peter Fraenkel, Chief Technology Officer of Marine Current Turbines will pro- vide insights about where the ocean energy industry is today and what can be done to accelerate the industry. Hans-Joachim Stietzel, Director of Cuxhaven Harbor Development Company, will share his perspective on how coastal regions in Germany have benefited from offshore wind energy. Mark Sinclair, of Clean Energy Group will talk about his effort to link ocean energy states and organ- izations to leverage their resources to bring energy from oceans and rivers ashore sooner rather than later. Patrick Cloney, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center will talk the importance of taking a long term view toward fostering clean tech and clean energy companies and research organizations in Massachusetts to enable them to better compete in the renewable energy race. Starting with the first annual Ocean Energy for New England conference, held at the Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Center, Fall River, MA, (2008) the focus was on how the U.S. can create a regulatory frame- work that would enable marine hydrokinetic systems to be tested;environmental impacts to be monitored and stakeholders to be involved in the process. The US Minerals Management Service and the Federal Electric Regulatory Commission were just begin- ning to clarify their roles in permitting, regulating and monitoring the introductions of offshore wind systems as well as wave, tide, and current test devices. Additionally, experts with in-the-water experience from the University of Edinburgh and the European Marine Energy Center in Scotland provided detailed accounts of lessons learned in terms of what to expect when designing, testing, scaling,launching, operating and maintaining ocean energydevices. The 2nd Annual Ocean Energy for New England conference that took place in Hyannis, Mass., addressed topics related to how ocean energy systems might fit local- ly in New England coastal waters. That is when the Massachusetts Ocean Management Planning process was picking up speed and was looking at the Rhode Island Special Area Management Plan process as a road map for MRECBy Maggie L. Merrill, Marine Marketing ServicesThe New England MarineRenewable EnergyCenter (MREC) will hostis 3rdannual technicalconference in Boston onNovember 7-8, 2011.MTR#8 (34-49):MTR Layouts 10/10/2011 11:39 AM Page 46