BOEM Proposes Offshore Wind Lease Sale in Massachusetts

BOEM has announced the completion of the nation's sixth competitive lease sale for renewable energy in federal waters. The provisionsal winner of the lease is Statoil Wind US LLC. 79, 350 acres offshore New York have been leased to Statoil for $42, 469, 725.
https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-auctions-over-7900...https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-auctions-over-79000-acres-offshore-new-york-wind-energy
On March 16, 2017, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Acting Director Walter Cruickshank announced the completion of the nation’s seventh competitive lease sale for renewable wind energy in federal waters. A Wind Energy Area of 122,405 acres offshore Kitty Hawk, North Carolina received the high bid of $9,066,650 from Avangrid Renewables, LLC, the provisional winner.
BOEM has been working with the North Carolina Renewable Energy Task Force since 2010 to identify an area of sufficient size for offshore wind development, while avoiding ecologically sensitive areas and multiple use conflicts. The North Carolina lease area, designated OCS-A 0508, begins about 24 nautical miles from shore and extends 25.7 nautical miles in a general southeast direction. Its seaward extent ranges from 13.5 nautical miles in the north to .6 of a nautical mile in the south.
Using the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s estimates of 3 megawatts (MW) per square kilometer, the lease area has a potential generating capacity of 1,486 MW, enough energy to power more than 500,000 homes. The actual size of the wind energy project will be determined by the developer.
BOEM prepared this Environmental Assessment (EA) to consider the reasonably foreseeable environmental consequences of lease issuance and, in particular, whether issuing a lease will result in significant environmental impacts. The activities associated with the EA include 1) site characterization surveys; and, 2) site assessment activities.
BOEM prepared this Enviromental Assessment (EA) to consider the reasonably foreseeable enviromental consequences of lease issuance and, in particular, whether issuing a lease will result in significant enviromental impacts. The activities associated with the EA include 1) site characterization surveys; and, 2) site assessment activities.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has executed a wind energy research lease with the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME).
This is BOEM’s first executed wind energy research lease. Under this lease, DMME proposes to design, develop and demonstrate a grid-connected, 12-megawatt (MW) offshore wind test facility on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) off the coast of Virginia – adjacent to the Virginia Wind Energy Area (WEA). The data obtained and lessons learned from this project will be made publicly available and inform the future production of renewable energy within the WEA. http://www.boem.gov/press03242015a/
Denmark-based DONG Energy says it will develop the Massachusetts offshore wind lease area that was recently awarded to RES Americas. The transaction requires BOEM approval. http://www.nawindpower.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.14097