The US Department of Defense has raised security concerns over several of the proposed wind energy areas (WEAs) in the Central Atlantic region.
The US Navy and Air Force pointed to four of the six WEAs, including the two large eastern deepwater areas, as potentially affecting military operations. They noted that the two remaining parcels, the smallest proposed, will require additional study.
The six WEAs were previously identified by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) as potential areas for an offshore wind auction.
In a statement, BOEM noted that it “has a long working relationship with DoD, and together we have successfully deconflicted and identified areas that have resulted in 27 leases.
“We will continue this collaboration as we seek to identify new lease areas in the Central Atlantic.”
It added: “Because BOEM was already collaborating with DoD, we did not incorporate a DoD compatibility assessment in the draft Wind Energy Areas released for public comment in November 2022.
“BOEM is in the process of analysing and incorporating DoD’s compatibility assessment into the spatial model being used to inform identification of final Wind Energy Areas in the Central Atlantic.”