OREC Saddened by Passing of Member Matthew Simmons

Mr. Simmons, devoted member of OREC, founded Simmons & Company International, an energy investment firm in what was the beginning of a successful career in energy banking and research. Mr. Simmons went on to establish the Ocean Energy Institute in 2007 after leaving the day-to-day operations at Simmons & Co. in order to pursue the next phase in his career with a focus on offshore renewable energy.

“Matt’s passing comes as a shock to the entire Coalition and energy community. We are deeply saddened, and will sorely miss his leadership and enthusiasm in creating a base for a clean, energy independent future,” said Sean O’Neill, OREC’s President. “We look forward to carrying on his devotion to the development of offshore renewable energy with his same commitment and passion.”

Mr. Simmons, known as a “peak oil” theorist, published “Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy” in 2005, in which he argued that the world was nearing its peak oil production and that the supply would soon drop. His on-point predictions of the oil industry elevated him to acclaim as an oil and energy expert. Mr. Simmons dedicated the last remaining years of his life to green energy, and as such, his wife, Ellen, respectfully requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Ocean Energy Institute, www.oceanenergy.org.

The Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition is the only national trade association exclusively dedicated to promoting marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy technologies from clean, renewable ocean resources. Founded in April of 2005, the Coalition has grown to over 40 members including technology developers, consultants, law firms, investor-owned utilities, publicly owned utilities, universities, and scientific and engineering firms. The coalition is working with industry leaders, academic scholars, and other interested NGO's to encourage ocean renewable technologies and raise awareness of their vast potential to help secure an affordable, reliable, environmentally friendly energy future.           

We seek a legislative and regulatory regime in the United States that fosters the development of ocean renewable technologies, their commercial development, and support in the race to capture the rich energy potential of our oceans. While other countries have already deployed viable, operating, power generating projects using the emission-free power of ocean waves, currents, and tidal forces, the U.S. is only beginning to acknowledge the importance these technologies.