PNNL

Simon Geerlofs is a senior advisor at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s (PNNL) Marine and Coastal Research Laboratory specializing in partnerships, policy, and community engagement in support of energy innovation in the Blue Economy. In 2018 and 2019, Mr. Geerlofs served on assignment to the U.S. Department of Energy's Water Power Technologies Office to develop the Powering the Blue Economy initiative. Before his employment at PNNL, Mr. Geerlofs gained extensive experience with communities and stakeholders advancing grass-roots coastal conservation as the Marine Programs Manager for the Northwest Straits Commission. Before that, Mr. Geerlofs served as a legislative sssistant to Senator Maria Cantwell, working closely with Congress, constituents, agencies, and others to enact effective marine policy. Simon has a master’s degree from the University of Washington School of Marine Affairs and served as a John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellow in 2006.

• Stakeholder engagement and decision support for effective marine spatial planning and river basin energy/environmental opportunity assessment.
• Understanding and mitigating environmental effects and conflicts with existing uses in deployment of marine renewable energy.
• Application of coastal and ocean modeling to address estuarine and marine management questions.
• Policy analysis and support of U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office program goals.

• Master of Marine Affairs, School of Marine Affairs, University of Washington, June 2005
• Bachelor of Arts, History and Anthropology, University of Washington, June 1999

• DOE Representative to the US Coastal Research Program (May 2020-present)
• Board Member (secretary), Washington Maritime Blue (February 2020-present)
• Board Member (secretary), Northwest Straits Foundation (January 2017-present)
• Member of the West Coast Governor’s Agreement on Ocean Health—Renewable Energy Action Coordination Team (January 2010-2015)
• Member (representing US DOE) of the Oregon/BOEM-State/Federal Task Force for Offshore Renewable Energy (March 2011-2015)
• Board Member, Oregon Wave Energy Trust (January 2012-2015)
• John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellow, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2005-2006)
• Foss Fellow for Maritime and Waterfront Studies (2005)

• 2006 John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellow, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• 2005 Foss Fellow for Maritime and Waterfront Studies

Geerlofs, S.H. 2021 (in press). “Marine Energy and the New Blue Economy”. in “Preparing a Workforce for the New Blue Economy”. Edited by Rick Spinrad. Elsevier Press, London.

LiVecchi, A., Copping, A., Jenne, D., Gorton, A., Preus, R., Gill, G., Robichaud, R., Green, R., Geerlofs, S., Gore, S., Hume, D., McShane, W., Schmaus, C., H. Spence, H., 2019. Powering The Blue Economy; Exploring Opportunities for Marine Renewable Energy in Maritime Markets. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Washington, D.C.

Larson K.B., J.D. Tagestad, C.J. Perkins, M.R. Oster, W.M. Warwick, and S.H. Geerlofs.   2015.   "A Technical and Economic Optimization Approach to Exploring Offshore Renewable Energy Development in Hawaii."    PNNL-24639. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

K Larson, J Tagestad, SH Geerlofs, M Sanders, J Ahmann, J Busch, B Van Cleve. 2014. Offshore Wind and Wave Energy Feasibility Mapping for the Outer Continental Shelf off the State of Oregon. US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Pacific OCS Region, Camarillo, CA. OCS Study BOEM 2014-658. 40 pp.

Yang Z., T. Wang, A.E. Copping, and S.H. Geerlofs.   2014.   "Modeling of In-stream Tidal Energy Development and its Potential Effects in Tacoma Narrows, Washington, USA."  Ocean and Coastal Management 99.  PNNL-SA-100989. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2014.02.010

Van Cleve, FB, C Judd, A Radil, J Ahmann, SH Geerlofs. 2013 Geospatial Analysis of Technical and Economic Suitability for Renewable Ocean Energy Development on Washington’s Outer Coast. PNNL-22554, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA.

Geerlofs, S, N Voisin, K Ham, J Tagestad, T Harahan, A Coleman, J Saulsbury, A Wolfe, B Hadjerioua, K Stewart. 2011. The Integrated Basin-Scale Opportunity Assessment Initiative: Deschutes Basin Preliminary Hydropower Opportunity Assessment. PNNL-20802, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA.

Geerlofs, SH, R Sherman-O’Neil, L Hanna, H Battey. 2011. Siting Wave Energy on the Oregon Coast: The Oregon Territorial Sea Plan and Siting Analysis Tools. In the Implementing Agreement—Ocean Energy Systems Annual Report for 2011. Edited by A. Brito e Melo and J. Huckerby. Paris, France.

Copping AE, and SH Geerlofs. 2011. The Contribution of Environmental Siting and Permitting Requirements to the Cost of Energy for Marine and Hydrokinetic Devices. In Proceedings of the 9th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference, September 5-9, 2011, Southampton, United Kingdom.  EWTEC, Southampton, United Kingdom.