Studies

The Office of Offshore Renewable Energy Programs (OREP) oversees development of offshore renewable 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 Renewable Energy Studies Development Plan for Fiscal Years 2009 – 2011 (241.13 KB PDF) identifies information needs for the Renewable 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 renewable energy and alternate use are available online.

Ongoing Studies

	Comparative Study of OWTG Standards
	Determining Night Time Distribution of Long-Tailed Ducks Using Radio Telemetry (13 KB PDF)
	Effects of Pile Driving Sounds on Auditory and Non-Auditory Tissues of Fish (13.44 KB PDF)
	North and Central Atlantic Information Resources: Data Search and Literature Synthesis
	Update of Summary of Knowledge for Pacific Coast, Volumes I and II (16.92 MB PDF)
	Updated Summary of Knowledge for Pacific Coast - Technical Summary (668 KB PDF)
	Compendium of Avian Information and Comprehensive GIS Geodatabase (13.24 KB PDF) Energy Market and Infrastructure Information for Evaluating Renewable Energy Projects for OCS Atlantic and Pacific Regions (39 KB PDF)
	Evaluation of Visual Impacts on Historic Properties (11.56 KB PDF)
	Meteorological and Wave Measurements for Improving Meteorological and Air Quality Modeling (12 KB PDF) Potential for Interactions between Endangered and Candidate Bird Species with Wind Facility Operations on the Atlantic OCS (11.96 KB PDF)

Completed Studies

Worldwide Synthesis and Analysis of Existing Information Regarding Environmental Effects of Renewable Energy on the Outer Continental Shelf Report (OCS Report MMS 2007-038) (7.25 KB PDF) Full Report  (7.25 KB PDF)   Literature Database   Technical Summary  (82 KB PDF)