BOEM Finalizes Environmental Assessment for Gulf of Maine Offshore Wind Energy Area

The Bureau of Ocean Vitality Administration (BOEM) has accomplished its closing Environmental Evaluation (EA) for the Wind Vitality Space (WEA) within the U.S. Gulf of Maine, marking a big step in direction of offshore wind improvement within the area.

BOEM discovered that leasing and website evaluation and characterization actions is not going to have a big impression on the surroundings.

The evaluation evaluated potential environmental impacts of economic wind vitality leases off the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, focussing on actions corresponding to surveys and meteorological buoy installations. The evaluation didn’t cowl the set up of offshore generators, which might endure a separate environmental overview if a leaseholder submits a undertaking proposal.

BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein emphasised the company’s collaborative method to the evaluation: “BOEM is actively assessing proposed offshore wind actions within the Gulf of Maine by collaborating with Tribes, state and federal companies, ocean customers, native communities, and different stakeholders”.

This newest improvement aligns with the Biden-Harris administration’s targets of deploying 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind vitality capability by 2030 and 15 GW of floating offshore wind vitality capability by 2035.

In April 2024, the Division of the Inside proposed an offshore wind vitality lease sale within the Gulf of Maine, encompassing eight potential areas totaling almost a million acres. These areas may doubtlessly generate about 15 GW of unpolluted vitality, equal to the annual energy necessities of 5.25 million properties.

Below the Biden Administration, the Division of the Inside has authorized 10 offshore wind tasks representing greater than 15 gigawatts of unpolluted vitality from offshore wind vitality.

The Bureau of Ocean Vitality Administration (BOEM) in August executed the primary U.S. floating offshore wind vitality analysis lease, overlaying almost 15,000 acres off the coast of Maine. The groundbreaking lease is located 28 nautical miles off the coast of Maine on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf and is poised to host as much as 12 floating offshore wind generators, with a possible to generate 144 megawatts of renewable vitality.