Feasibility Study for Renewable Energy Technologies in Alaska Offshore Waters: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)

This study assesses the feasibility of ocean-based renewable energy sources for decarbonizing the energy supply, increasing coastal resilience, and building energy security and independence in Alaska with a focus on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) areas south of the Bering Strait and approximately east of the 169th meridian. Alaska's OCS holds vast renewable energy resource potential including, but not limited to, offshore wind, tidal and wave energy. However, most of this energy resource is "stranded" far from load centers (populations or industrial facilities) that could use the power. Therefore, developing these resources would also require monetizing the resource in some way. In this study we investigate hydrogen production as one monetizing opportunity, and we briefly discuss other possible markets for electricity.