The DOI’s fourth competitive renewable energy lease sale on the Outer Continental Shelf has nearly doubled the federal offshore acreage available for commercial-scale wind energy projects. Despite the expanded acreage, the U.S. offshore wind industry continues to face unique challenges of high costs, mitigation of environmental impacts, project installation, and grid interconnection, and continued federal offshore… Keep reading →
On Wednesday, January 28, as required by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Abigail Ross Hopper announced the next step in the development of our nation’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2017-2022. The Draft Proposed Program (DPP) includes 14 potential lease sales in eight planning areas – 10 sales in the Gulf of Mexico, three off the coast of Alaska, and one in a portion of the Mid- and South Atlantic, which includes areas off the coast of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
The DOI will offer approximately 742,000 acres offshore Massachusetts for commercial wind energy development in a competitive lease sale scheduled for January 29, 2015. On November 26, 2014, the Department of Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a notice to offer approximately 742,000 acres of the Massachusetts Wind Energy Area (WEA) for… Keep reading →
Cape Wind has entered into a two-year lease agreement with MassCEC to stage the first U.S. offshore wind project at the South Coast Marine Commerce Terminal. On September 12, 2014, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announced a lease agreement between Cape Wind and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) to stage the first U.S. offshore wind project from the South… Keep reading →
Deepwater Wind has received the final federal approval required to advance its proposed Block Island Wind Farm, which would be the nation’s first offshore wind project. On September 5, 2014, Deepwater Wind announced that its proposed Block Island Wind Farm has received final federal permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the project’s lead… Keep reading →
Worth reading: this presentation on the facts about offshore seismic surveying from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in its August “Science Notes” newsletter. It’s prefaced by William Y. Brown, chief environmental officer for BOEM, who focuses on the public discussion that has followed the agency’s July announcement that it would allow safe seismic testing off portions… Keep reading →
Members of the U.S. House and Senate are weighing in with Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on the administration’s new five-year oil and natural gas leasing program, and the message is fairly simple: open more of the outer continental shelf (OCS) for exploration and development. Interior has begun work on the new leasing program that will… Keep reading →
The Department of Interior has issued a proposed sale notice of approximately 344,000 acres in the New Jersey Wind Energy Area. On July 21, 2014, the Department of Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Ocean Management (BOEM) published a Proposed Sale Notice for commercial wind energy leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore New Jersey. The… Keep reading →
DOI has scheduled a lease sale for approximately 80,000 acres in the Maryland Wind Energy Area, estimated to support up to 1,450 MW of commercial wind generation. On July 3, 2014, the Department of Interior (DOI) announced that approximately 80,000 acres offshore Maryland will be offered for commercial wind energy development in an August 19… Keep reading →
