Ocean Energy Technical Conference

The 1st Annual MREC Technical Conference will take place at the Advanced Technology & Manufacturing Center (ATMC) in Fall River (MA, USA). The purpose of this conference is to advance the science of ocean generation of electricity and to assist the industry in finding new technology for commercialisation. The line up of technology based presentations will add to the technical literature available for ocean power generation. With sessions dedicated to ocean wave energy conversion devices, tidal in stream conversion devices; offshore wind generation systems and platform design the conference will provide a forum for researchers to present new technologies and to share research findings. There will also be a discussion of the methodology and results of site survey work in ocean test sites in the region. This work is crucial to pinpointing exact locations where there is a consistent power resource and for characterizing the seafloor for foundation and/or mooring installation.

MREC understands that convening the many stakeholders that will be impacted by ocean energy systems is critical to good planning and proper location of ocean-based generating systems. MREC has held two stakeholder conferences which have been extremely effective in addressing policy, planning, economic development and environmental concerns rel ating to the arrival of ocean energy in New England waters. The MREC organisation is assisting the MA Executive Office of Environment and Energy, The Massachusetts Ocean Partnership, Clean Energy Center and other organisations in locating sites for energy generation projects that will have minimum impact on the environment and on others who work, recreate and enjoy the ocean.

Anyone interesting in attending the upcoming conference or participating in the MREC consortium is urged to contact Maggie Merrill, MREC Communications Manager at mmer...@umassd.edu .