As part of President Obama’s comprehensive
plan to move our economy toward domestic clean energy sources and cut
carbon pollution, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of
Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau held the
nation’s first-ever competitive lease sale for renewable energy in
federal waters.
The
provisional winner of the lease sale, which auctioned two leases for a
Wind Energy Area of 164,750 acres offshore Rhode Island and
Massachusetts for wind energy development, is Deepwater Wind New
England, LLC. When built, these areas could generate enough combined
energy to power more than one million homes.
“When you
think about the enormous energy potential that Atlantic wind holds,
this is a major milestone for our nation,” said Secretary Jewell. “A lot
of collaboration and thoughtful planning went into getting to this
point, and we’ll continue to employ that approach as we move forward up
and down the coast to ensure that offshore wind energy is realized in
the right way and in the right places. Offshore wind is an exciting new
frontier that will help keep America competitive, and expand domestic
energy production, all without increasing carbon pollution.”
The Wind
Energy Area is located 9.2 nautical miles south of the Rhode Island
coastline and has the potential to support 3,395 megawatts of wind
generation. BOEM will hold its next competitive lease sale for offshore
wind on Sept. 4, which will auction nearly 112,800 acres offshore
Virginia, and is expected to announce additional auctions for Wind
Energy Areas offshore Massachusetts, Maryland, and New Jersey later this
year and in 2014.
Maps for these areas are available on BOEM’s website.
The
auction is the result of a coordinated strategic plan to accelerate the
development of offshore wind resources that was unveiled in February
2011 by former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and former
Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. As part of a ‘Smart from the Start’
program for expediting commercial-scale wind energy on the federal Outer
Continental Shelf, Interior identified Wind Energy Areas well suited
for commercial development with minimal impacts to the environment and
other important uses. Efforts to spur responsible development of this
abundant renewable resource are part of a series of Administration
actions to speed renewable energy development offshore and onshore by
improving coordination with state, local and federal partners.
As part
of President Obama’s comprehensive Climate Action Plan, he challenged
Interior to re-double efforts on the renewable energy program by
approving an additional 10,000 megawatts of renewable energy production
on public lands and waters by 2020.
Since
2009, Interior has approved 46 wind, solar and geothermal utility-scale
projects on public lands, including associated transmission corridors
and infrastructure to connect to established power grids. When built,
these projects could provide more than 12,700 megawatts – enough energy
to power more than 4.4 million homes and support over 17,000
construction and operations jobs.
At the
same time, under the Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy,
domestic oil and gas production has grown each year President Obama has
been in office, with domestic oil production currently higher than any
time in two decades; natural gas production at its highest level ever;
and renewable electricity generation from wind, solar, and geothermal
sources having doubled. Combined with recent declines in oil
consumption, foreign oil imports now account for less than 40 percent of
the oil consumed in America – the lowest level since 1988.
“Each of
these renewable energy lease sales are significant steps forward in the
President’s all-of-the-above energy strategy and call for action on
climate change,” said Director Beaudreau. “Harnessing the enormous
potential of offshore wind will create jobs, increase our energy
security and provide abundant sources of clean renewable power.”
BOEM
auctioned the Wind Energy Area offshore Rhode Island and Massachusetts
as two leases, referred to as the North Lease Area (Lease OCS-A0486) and
the South Lease Area (Lease OCS-A0487). The North Lease Area consists
of about 97,500 acres and the South Lease Area covers about 67,250
acres. For a map of the Wind Energy Area, click here.
The sale received $3,838,288 in high bids. The auction lasted 1 day,
consisting of 11 rounds before determining the provisional winner. In
addition to Deepwater Wind New England, LLC, the following companies
participated in the auction: Sea Breeze Energy, LLC; and US Wind Inc.
“Now that
we have identified Deepwater Wind as the provisional winner of this
auction, we look forward to executing the lease and reviewing their Site
Assessment Plan for the lease area,” said Director Beaudreau.
Following
the auction, the Attorney General, in consultation with the Federal
Trade Commission, will have 30 days in which to complete an antitrust
review of the auction. Shortly thereafter, BOEM will send unsigned
copies of the lease form to the winning bidder, who will have 10 days to
sign and return the lease, file required financial assurance, and pay
the balance of the winning bid.
Each
lease will have a preliminary term of 6 months in which to submit a Site
Assessment Plan to BOEM for approval. A Site Assessment Plan describes
the activities (e.g., installation of meteorological towers and buoys) a
lessee plans to perform for the assessment of the wind resources and
ocean conditions of its commercial lease.
After a
Site Assessment Plan is approved, the lessee will have up to 4 and 1/2
years in which to submit a Construction and Operations Plan (COP) for
approval, which provides a detailed plan for the construction and
operation of a wind energy project on the lease. After the COP is
approved, the lessee will have an operations term of 25 years.
Post to be found at:
http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/Interior-Holds-FirstEver-Competitive-Lease-Sale-for-Renewable-Energy-in-Federal-Waters-2013-08-01/
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