BOEM eyes faster offshore wind environmental reviews with first study of multiple lease areas
BOEM eyes faster offshore wind environmental reviews with first study of multiple lease areas | Utility Dive
For the first time, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will conduct a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, or PEIS, on offshore wind development across multiple lease areas at once, the agency announced Tuesday.
The six lease areas, located in the New York Bight, total over 488,000 acres and contain up to 7 GW of potential offshore wind capacity. BOEM has already completed a draft PEIS for the areas, examining the impact of a variety of development scenarios in the region on air quality, water quality and emissions.
BOEM chose to evaluate the areas as a group because of their close proximity to each other, “and the timing of when BOEM expects to receive future project plans for review,” according to a Tuesday release.
“We look forward to receiving additional public comment to inform this first ever regional environmental review of offshore wind energy development on multiple leases,” BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein said. “We are confident that this comprehensive approach can create efficiencies for future project-specific wind energy reviews in a manner that protects the ocean environment and marine life.”
BOEM said the new regional approach is an “evolution” of the agency’s process. This new strategy comes as the U.S. offshore wind industry is experiencing economic turbulence that has led to a few project delays and cancelations, putting state and federal procurement goals at risk.
“We are hopeful that by undertaking this comprehensive environmental review of issues common across all six lease areas, BOEM can significantly accelerate the federal permitting process while more effectively identifying and addressing any potential impacts,” said New York Offshore Wind Alliance Director Fred Zalcman in an email.
Zalcman said that the release of the draft PEIS for these areas is an important milestone as the U.S. attempts to meet the Biden administration’s goal of deploying 30 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030.
“Additional environmental analyses specific to each proposed wind energy project will build off this programmatic review once BOEM receives individual proposed project plans from the leaseholders,” BOEM said.
The draft PEIS will be published in the Federal Register on Jan. 12, followed by a 45-day public comment period.
Related Knowledge Center: Offshore wind energy
Over the next decade, U.S. offshore wind power is expected to grow from a single 30-megawatt wind farm off Rhode Island to more than 2,000 MW of capacity along the Atlantic Seaboard. There are contracts for wind power off the coasts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated the United States has over 4,000 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind potential, enough to power the country four times over.
The growth in part being spurred by state solicitations, including in New York, where then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) set a commitment of 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035, and in Connecticut, where in June 2021, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed legislation authorizing the construction of 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030.
The offshore development is also being driven by an investment tax credit set to end in December 2019 and is equal to 12 percent of expenditures. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) have introduced a bill to extend the tax credit for up to eight years.
The Interior Department has held eight competitive lease sales that resulted in 15 offshore wind leases over 1.7 million acres that has the potential for 21 GW of capacity. In February 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management completed a bidding process that realized $4.37 billion for 488,000 acres across six lease areas in federal waters off New York and New Jersey.
Projects have also been proposed off the Southeast coast, off California and Hawaii, and for the Great Lakes.