This Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (draft GEIS), prepared pur- suant to the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), ana- lyzes the potential environmental impacts associated with the State’s procurement of this 2.4 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030, and builds upon and incorporates by reference relevant material from NYSERDA’s Offshore Wind Master Plan.
The docket for this matter can be found here.
Coastal Planning & Engineering, Inc., a CB&I Company, was contracted by the Maryland Energy Administration to conduct a high-resolution geophysical survey of the Outer Continental Shelf offshore Maryland in an area designated by the U.S. Department of Interior as the Maryland Wind Energy Area. The main objective of the survey was to collect and compile a comprehensive geophysical dataset as well as identify potential hazards and submerged cultural resources in support of the future development of a large utility-scale wind farm that will supply Maryland electricity consumers with a sustainable source of clean renewable energy. The high- resolution geophysical survey was planned prior to the federal government’s leasing of the Outer Continental Shelf Maryland Wind Energy Area in an effort to streamline and jumpstart the development process.
This two-year study generated and assembled the most comprehensive dataset of physical, biological, geographic, and socioeconomic information available for the Atlantic Ocean waters offshore New York State. In its entirety, the offshore planning area constituted approximately 12,650 square nautical miles (16,740 square miles) off the south shore of New York City and Long Island. This study provides information for state and federal decision-making, supplementing available use and resource data. It contains physical, biological, geographic, and socioeconomic information.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) announce the results of two new multi-year marine wildlife survey efforts that focus on collecting baseline biological occurrence and distribution data for whale, turtle, and bird species within the Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) offshore Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The wildlife surveys found that the Massachusetts and Rhode Island WEAs avoid the high concentrations of protected species of whales, turtles and seabirds in these areas.
Reports:
Abundance and Distribution of Seabirds off Southeastern Massachusetts, 2011-2015.
In 2012, BOEM identified three Wind Energy Call Areas off of North Carolina (US Government, Federal Register Vol 77, No. 240, December 2012): the Kitty Hawk Call Area is located near the North Carolina-Virginia border whereas both the Wilmington-West and Wilmington-East Call Areas are located near the North Carolina-South Carolina border, near Cape Fear and Frying Pan Shoals. In August 2014, BOEM announced three, fully vetted, WEAs offshore of North Carolina, in which each of the three Call Areas were reduced in size. This research project examined the seafloor and benthic communities in the Wilmington-East Call Area with some assessments focused on the smaller Wilmington-East WEA.
