Mare Incognitum, Part I: Do We Now Need (to at least Discuss) a Mobile Offshore Renewables Unit Convention?

Abstract

New non-fixed, floating offshore renewable energy technologies are now being developed and deployed by coastal states around the world, including both generating assets such as floating ocean thermal energy converters, floating solar energy converters, floating tidal energy converters, floating wave energy converters, and floating wind turbines, and auxiliary assets such as floating energy storage systems, floating grid integration systems, and floating measurement units. These mobile offshore renewables units (or MORUs) represent a new form of move-able property which will move in and out of ports, and transit through and be moored in the exclusive economic zones of waters of multiple coastal states in their lifetime. MORUs also possess a number of potential territorial, technological, economic, and legal advantages over comparable fixed-bottom and onshore renewable energy technologies. However, MORUs also face a number of international legal uncertainties which could act as an impediment to their further deployment. The current framework of international maritime conventions has been developed to govern the public and private international law issues faced by traditional ships and their stakeholders. Unfortunately, like the larger mobile offshore units used in the oil and gas industry, MORUs are frequently outside of the scope of a potentially relevant maritime convention or the convention’s level of adoption by contracting states is too low to provide MORU stakeholders the legal certainty and uniformity that they desire. The Article explores whether we need, or at least need to discuss, a Mobile Offshore Renewables Unit Convention to resolve these legal uncertainties and provide needed uniformity.