Acting BOEM Director Walter Cruickshank today released a message regarding his agency’s overall offshore wind leasing strategy and announcing the path forward.
Noting that Atlantic and Pacific federal waters provide “a world-class wind resource” and that the ocean is “already a very busy place,” Cruickshank called stakeholder engagement “an essential part” of BOEM’s renewable energy program and said that successful offshore wind development will require reducing potential conflicts with other users, addressing environmental impacts, and developing a reliable supply chain.
Going forward, BOEM will do the following:
- Utilize a regional leasing approach, including for the Carolinas, with wind energy areas established for the Carolinas later this year;
- Establish a Gulf of Maine Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force (Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts);
- Refrain from offering new leases off Southern New England until there is additional interest from either the states or the offshore wind industry;
- Enter into a cooperative regional fisheries science agreement with Massachusetts to begin studies identified as priorities by the fishing industry;
- Lease additional areas in the New York Bight pending completion of the Area Identification Process later this year;
- Further evaluate leasing opportunities off Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina;
- Conduct a California lease sale in 2020;
- Convene an Oregon Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force in the fall to explore potential future offshore wind development;
- Continue to work with the state and DOD to identify suitable areas for future offshore wind leasing off Hawaii;
- Further explore possibility of commercialization of floating foundations on the Atlantic coast through a whitepaper and workshop on deepwater development in early 2020; and
- Continue to work with stakeholders as right of way requests are received from companies seeking to construct offshore grid connection networks as the agency evaluates the viability of those alternative transmission models and ensures compatibility with shared ocean uses
Cruickshank said that BOEM will work to ensure that it has the latest and best available information “to make informed decisions while implementing an all-of-the-above energy strategy.”
