First US Floating Wind Project Progressing Through Federal Permitting System - Offshore WIND
First US Floating Wind Project Progressing Through Federal Permitting System | Offshore Wind
First US Floating Wind Project Progressing Through Federal Permitting System
The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has completed a draft environmental assessment (EA) of the potential issuance of a research lease to the State of Maine that would grant the State the exclusive right to submit plans for a twelve-turbine, 144 MW floating wind farm for BOEM’s approval.
The federal agency is set to publish the draft EA on 21 July and open a 30-day public comment period, during which BOEM will gather feedback from the stakeholders and public. After reviewing public comments submitted during the comment period, BOEM will publish a final EA that will inform the decision on whether to issue the research lease.
The State of Maine submitted an application for the research lease for a site located more than 20 nautical miles off the Maine coast in October 2021.
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In August last year, BOEM issued a Request for Competitive Interest (RFCI) and a Request for Interest (RFI) for the Gulf of Maine. The RFI was published for the commercial nomination of areas and the RCFI for the site where the State of Maine requested the lease, as per regulations that require BOEM to identify whether or not there is competitive commercial interest in any area that is the subject of an unsolicited lease request.
In January, BOEM issued a Determination of No Competitive Interest for the research lease and then moved forward to process the state’s application, announcing its intention to prepare the environmental assessment (EA) for the wind energy research lease in May.
According to information shared earlier by the Maine Governor’s Energy Office (GEO), which filed the application with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the floating wind research project will comprise twelve wind turbines on floating foundations designed at the University of Maine.
“This project will advance UMaine’s patented technology and will foster leading research into how floating offshore wind interacts with Maine’s marine environment, fishing industry, shipping and navigation routes, and more”, Governor’s Office said in 2021.
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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.