Massachusetts on Wednesday released a draft plan for the permitting and management of ocean energy projects, such as tidal and wind power farms.

The state said it is the first such comprehensive plan in the nation. The plan aims to support the development of renewable energy, while maintaining protection of marine resources, by establishing potential zones for projects and mapping zones with sensitive ecosystems.

The draft was mandated by the state's Oceans Act of 2008, which sets a December 31, 2009 deadline for the final plan.

Last week, the U.S. Interior Department awarded the first-ever exploratory leases for offshore wind power development off the coasts of New Jersey and Delaware.

A Pike Research report published in June said marine- and hydrokinetic-generated power from the world's oceans could grow to provide 2.7 gigawatts (GW) of power generation capacity by 2015

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and New Jersey-based Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPTT) in January announced plans to collaborate on utility-scale wave power generation in North America.

Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles spoke to WBUR in Boston about the draft management plan. A transcript of that interview is available at: www.wbur.org/2009/07/01/oceans-management

Reprinted with permission from SustainableBusiness