Posted on June 16, 2021
The US Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has announced a proposed sale of over 7GW of offshore wind development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the New York Bight.
The Bight is an area of shallow waters between Long Island and the New Jersey coast.
It would be the first competitive offshore wind lease sale for the Biden-Harris administration.
The Proposed Sale Notice includes eight lease areas in the New York Bight that could be auctioned for commercial wind energy development.
A Proposed Sale Notice in the Federal Register today opens a 60-day public comment period and provides detailed information about potential areas that could be available for leasing, proposed lease provisions and conditions, auction details.
BOEM said it is also seeking feedback on several innovative lease stipulations that will reaffirm its commitment to create good-paying union jobs and engage with all stakeholders and ocean users.
Some of these potential stipulations include a requirement to make every reasonable effort to enter into a project labour agreement covering the construction of any project proposed for the lease area.
A requirement to include a stakeholder and ocean user engagement summary as part of a lessee’s progress reporting requirements, and mechanisms to provide benefits to underserved communities and investments in a domestic supply chain.
Comments received by the end of the comment period will be made available to the public and considered before deciding whether to publish a Final Sale Notice, which will announce the time and date of the lease sale.
BOEM said it requires the submission of the required qualification materials from any bidders that BOEM has not previously qualified for a New York Bight lease sale.
Qualification materials must be postmarked no later than 13 August.
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said: “Climate change poses an existential threat — not just to our environment, but to our health, our communities, and our economic well-being.
“The Biden-Harris administration recognises the urgency of this moment, and the development of renewable energy resources is an important piece of addressing this reality.
“Today’s announcement of new proposed lease stipulations puts a priority on creating and sustaining good-paying union jobs as we build a clean energy economy.”
BOEM director Amanda Lefton said: “The New York Bight is a prime example of how regional cooperation, partnerships, and stakeholder feedback can come together to identify areas suitable for offshore wind development.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates that fighting climate change and creating union jobs can go hand in hand.”
BOEM has held eight competitive lease sales and issued 17 active commercial offshore wind leases on the Atlantic from Massachusetts to North Carolina.
