Biden administration advances offshore wind
In a significant step toward achieving its goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030, the Biden-Harris administration has announced the completion of an environmental review by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).
This review assesses potential wind development activities across six lease areas, encompassing over 488,000 acres off New York and New Jersey, collectively known as the New York Bight.
BOEM estimates that fully developing these areas could generate up to 7 gigawatts of renewable energy, sufficient to power approximately two million homes.
“BOEM has collected input from tribes, federal and state government agencies, local communities, ocean users and key stakeholders as part of our comprehensive environmental review,” said BOEM director Elizabeth Klein.
“We appreciate the feedback we have received, and we believe our regional approach will provide a solid baseline for future environmental reviews for any proposed offshore wind projects in the New York Bight.”
The review follows a record-setting auction in February 2022, which raised over US$4.3 billion for lease rights in the New York Bight.
BOEM’s Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) outlines various measures to minimise environmental impacts and ensure sustainable development. Public engagement efforts, supported by the Inflation Reduction Act, included five public meetings and eight regional forums, yielding 1,568 comments that helped refine the PEIS.
With more than 15 gigawatts of clean energy approved and plans for additional lease sales through 2028, the Department of the Interior continues to lead the charge in offshore wind energy development.
The Final PEIS will be published in the Federal Register on 25 October 2024.
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