NHA and OREC establish Marine Energy Council

The National Hydropower Association (NHA) and the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition (OREC) have come together to form the Marine Energy Council, offering a new home for the marine energy community at NHA.

NHA is now expected to provide a unified voice as the national trade association for the full spectrum of water power technologies.

“Our two industries have so much in common, and it’s not just water. Bringing the conventional and marine energy industries together under one roof provides benefits to both as we collectively advocate the importance of all hydropower technologies as solutions to our nation’s energy challenges,” said NHA Executive Director Linda Church Ciocci.

Over the past nine months, a diverse group of industry representatives, including technology developers, academic institutions, consultants, component suppliers and service professionals representing the wave, tidal, ocean current and riverine sectors came together to evaluate several options and developed a proposal outlining a new structure within NHA that would allow it to represent the entire hydropower industry.

“For some time, OREC has been assessing ways to better coordinate and strengthen its voice. We concluded that joining forces with NHA would be in everyone’s best interest and thus OREC is delighted to partner with NHA to promote the responsible use of our nation’s abundant ocean and river energy resources,” said OREC Chairman Bill Staby.

The Boards of Directors of both NHA and OREC unanimously approved the plan in late November.

“NHA’s mission, to champion hydropower in all its forms, remains the same. We look forward to fully implementing the new Marine Energy Council over the coming weeks,” Ciocci added.

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Press Release; Image: OREC