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Offshore Renewable Energy Installations (OREI)

This page is designed to assist developers of Offshore Renewable Energy Installations (OREI) with the design and planning of these projects in Alaska. The term OREI is used by the Coast Guard to describe any individual structure or apparatus placed in the navigable waters of the United States that creates electricity by using sources other than oil or gas. Examples include wind farms and hydrokinetic apparati such as buoys, wave turbines, or current turbines.

The Coast Guard oversees two aspects of OREI installations:

1. Reviewing the applicant's Navigation Safety Plan to determine if the installation will pose potential adverse impacts to the users of the waterway. This is accomplished by conducting a Risk Assessment. In Alaska, these Risk Assessments are conducted by the USCG Sector Waterways offices.

●   USCG Sector Anchorage is responsible for waterways north of Yakutat including interior      river systems.

●   USCG Sector Juneau is responsible for waterways south of and including Yakutat. This includes all of Southeast Alaska to the Canadian border

2. Determining if the installation will require Private Aids to Navigation (PATON). PATON includes navigation lights and/or regulatory signs. These are used to warn mariners of the presence of the installation.

●   USCG District 17 Waterways Management Branch is responsible for PATON for the entire state of Alaska. See the PATON page for more information.

Public Information

The Coast Guard distributes navigation safety information to the maritime public regarding OREI in two ways:

●  Broadcast Notice to Mariners (BNM) Information is broadcasted on VHF and HF marine radio frequencies. The Coast Guards VHF coverage is limited on interior river systems.

●  Local Notice to Mariners (LNM) Information is distributed in a PDF document available every Wednesday at the USCG NAVCEN website. Applicants are encouraged to use the weekly LNM to solicit comments from waterway users on proposed OREI installations.

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