The Roger Williams University School of Law will host a who’s who of political leaders, academics, and industry officials this week for a two-day symposium on the legal, economic and policy issues surrounding ocean-based renewable energy.
The Oct. 23-24 event marks a departure for the school’s biennial Marine Law Symposium, now in its seventh year. The gatherings have usually focused on theoretical and academic concerns. This year, though, organizers say the emphasis will be on real-world solutions as policymakers grapple with developing a comprehensive regulatory regime for the new ocean-energy industry that balances commercial concerns with the public interest in protecting ocean resources.
“That’s what’s needed right now,” said Susan Farady, director of the Bristol law school’s Marine Affairs Institute, a partnership between Roger Williams, the University of Rhode Island’s Department of Marine Affairs and the Rhode Island Sea Grant College Program.
“We have the opportunity to design how we’re going to govern this industry – we’re inventing it as we go,” she continued. “So a conference like this is an opportunity to really, for a couple of days, with major players from all levels, figure out in-depth how the best way is to design the framework that will guide these projects.”
Still, even Farady acknowledged the organizers had no idea how timely the event would be – with high energy prices, a major wind-farm project slated for Rhode Island’s coast, and a new emphasis on “green” development – when they began planning it two years ago.
The speakers on Thursday and Friday will include U.S. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, Gov. Donald L. Carcieri, representatives from federal and stage agencies, financiers, energy developers, utility executives, attorneys, environmental advocates and authors.
“You always invite bigwigs to these conferences, but I think the fact that they’re attending is definitely an indication of the high profile of this topic,” Farady said. “And again, the timing – we’ve already begun going through this in Rhode Island, Massachusetts is in their process, nationally we’re talking about it. … So it’s very timely.”
Megan Higgins, the institute’s research counsel and the lead planner of the event, said she and the other planners had worked hard to put together topical panels and choose moderators who will push the participants beyond pat answers. “We’re not just having a conference for the conference’s sake,” she said, noting that recent years have seen a large number of events on the same topics, both locally and elsewhere.
In addition to the focus on real-world solutions, the symposium will also be more open to outsiders than in prior years. The proceedings will be broadcast live on the Web at mms://streamer.rwu.edu/marinelaw/ and viewers will be able to submit questions, comments and other feedback online. There will be a live blog for the event on the Roger Williams Web site.
The panel discussions and speeches will also be made available to download after the fact, and the Winter/Spring 2009 issue of the Roger Williams University Law Review will also feature a number of articles related to the symposium.
Jim Duffy, a partner at the Boston law firm Nixon Peabody LLP who specializes in tax-credit finance, is looking forward to attending and participating in the event. “It looks like a pretty impressive cast of characters,” he said, adding with a laugh: “It looks like the kind of group you usually see in San Francisco or New York City – not to denigrate Bristol.”
Inevitably, Duffy said, some of the discussion will turn to the current turmoil in the credit markets and the broader economy, which has made it harder for developers to obtain long-term financing for major projects. Although the economy has been deteriorating throughout the year, “this last month it has changed dramatically,” he said. “I was involved in a renewables project in the mid-Atlantic and they lost their equity financing.”
Nevertheless, Duffy, who graduated from the University of Rhode Island, said he is still advising his clients to proceed with their projects. Capital firms who have already pledged money are honoring their commitments, he said, and the renewal of federal tax credits for alternative energy that was tacked onto the recent bailout bill has calmed some concerns about costs.
“I’m optimistic about renewables finance,” he said. “I think it’s going through a period where you have to figure out the market [for it] — it’s a real asset, it’s got real value, but the pricing has to work itself out.” •
Correction: Oct. 24, 2008
This article has been corrected to clarify the name of Mr. Duffy’s law firm. The firm is Nixon Peabody LLP, not Nixon & Peabody.
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