The Department of the Interior has announced the next steps to bring offshore wind energy to another new area off the east coast of the US, the Gulf of Maine
On 18 August 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) made available a Request for Interest (RFI) and Request for Competitive Interest (RFCI) in the Federal Register for public comment.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said, “President Biden has set ambitious goals to address the climate crisis, and in response the Interior Department is taking historic steps to develop a robust and sustainable clean energy future. Today’s announcement for the Gulf of Maine represents one of the many milestones that this administration has achieved to advance offshore wind.”
BOEM director Amanada Lefton said, “As we work to spur offshore wind development and deploy floating offshore wind technology nationwide, BOEM recognizes the rich cultural heritage and ecological importance of the Gulf of Maine region, which is why we are using the best available science and knowledge in our planning and leasing process. We are committed to a transparent, inclusive and data-driven process that avoids or minimizes potential conflicts with marine life and ensures all ocean users flourish.”
The RFI is the first step in BOEM’s commercial planning and leasing process to identify the offshore locations that appear most suitable for development, taking into consideration potential impacts to other resources and ocean users. The purpose of the RFI is to gauge interest in the development of commercial wind energy leases within the RFI area, which consists of about 13,713,800 acres in the Gulf of Maine.
Through the RFI, BOEM is seeking feedback from stakeholders, industry and others regarding the location and size of specific areas they wish to be included in (or excluded from) an offshore wind lease sale, along with other planning considerations. This information will be used to narrow the area to be considered for offshore wind development as BOEM moves forward with the Gulf of Maine planning and leasing process.
The RFCI is the next step in processing the State of Maine’s application for a research lease and provides notice of the proposed research area that Maine requested. BOEM is issuing this RFCI because the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and implementing regulations require that BOEM determine whether competitive interest exists in any area that is the subject of an unsolicited lease request.
If BOEM does not receive any indications of competitive interest for a lease in response to this notice, it will move forward with the research application. However, if one or more indications of competitive interest from qualified entities are submitted, BOEM may decide to move forward with the lease issuance process using competitive leasing procedures.
Maine’s application requests 9,700 acres on the Outer Continental Shelf more than 20 nautical miles off the Maine coast. If developed, the research array would comprise up to 12 floating offshore wind turbines capable of generating up to 144 megawatts of renewable energy. BOEM has invited submission of indications of commercial interest, as well as comments from interested and affected parties.
The RFCI Area (68,320 acres) expands upon Maine’s requested research lease area to allow future siting flexibility to avoid or minimize conflicts with existing ocean users should a lease (research or commercial) be issued.
Only a project that is approximately the size of Maine’s research lease proposal, that is, no more than 10,000 acres and no more than 12 floating turbines and provides a conceptual framework for addressing the research priorities identified in the RFCI will have the potential to move forward.
BOEM is also funding several priority studies to inform any potential commercial leasing and development in the Gulf of Maine. It has also invested US$80M to collect baseline information in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Maine to date.
