Successful Collaborative Decision Making

Sapere is often sought out to engage on unique projects, where clients are facing uncharted waters and are seeking help in framing and making decisions in light of uncertainty. In the case of the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center, their Pacific Marine Energy Center South Energy Test Site (PMEC-SETS) is a project unlike any other installation in the United States. DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is funding this project as part of their mission to advance the development of renewable energy resources.

This unique project is a proposed grid-connected marine hydrokinetic energy (MHK) testing center off the coast of Oregon being licensed through FERCs Alternative Licensing Process (ALP). Sapere is facilitating a collaborative decision making process comprising regulatory agencies and local stakeholders chartered with the identification of monitoring and mitigation requirements for the project. Once licensed, PMEC-SETS will enable manufacturers of wave energy conversion devices (WECs) to deploy single devices or arrays of devices in the open ocean to evaluate their energy producing capabilities.

The PMEC project presents some first-of-a-kind hurdles, but these types of difficult decisions are where Sapere thrives. In our facilitation of these meetings, we're working with diverse stakeholders to define and frame the decisions, work through uncertainties, and move the licensing process toward completion. Though FERC's alternative licensing process is not unique, its application to this project is new to all parties involved. Sapere works to bring a common language to the communication between stakeholders with varied priorities, enabling the group to identify common ground and move forward constructively.