The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has laid out plans to improve the way it identifies future offshore wind energy sites.
Under the new processes, the BOEM will use scientific data and research to inform decisions regarding renewable energy planning, leasing and development efforts on the US Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
As such, the group will consult with ocean users to select the best available science and modelling approaches and will continue to use the latest scientific data to identify areas on the US OCS with the fewest environmental impacts and least conflicts, while still being technically and economically feasible for potential wind projects.
Among the groups the BOEM will collaborate with are the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS).
This will see the BOEM employ a spatial model that analyses entire marine ecosystems to identify the best areas for wind energy sites in the Gulf of Mexico, Central Atlantic and Gulf of Maine, and offshore Oregon.
This tool will help inform the BOEM’s draft Wind Energy Areas (WEAs), which will be available for public review and comment prior to final WEA designations.
The BOEM and NOAA recently collaborated to use the NCCOS tool to identify draft WEAs in the Gulf of Mexico.
In addition, the BOEM aims to provide stakeholders with additional opportunities to contribute meaningful insight and add transparency and inclusivity to how it identifies WEAs.
The group said it will work with federal, state, local and tribal partners throughout the offshore wind planning process, as well as stakeholders and ocean users, to gather information, data, and traditional knowledge to help identify WEAs on the US OCS that appear most suitable for commercial wind energy activities and have the fewest apparent environmental and user conflicts.
The BOEM has previously shared the analysis and rationale used to develop recommendations for the draft WEAs in the Gulf of Mexico on the BOEM’s webpage, a practice it will continue for other areas.
As previously done in the Gulf of Mexico, the BOEM will release draft WEAs for public review and comment prior to designating final WEAs in the Central Atlantic and Gulf of Maine and offshore Oregon.
The new processes were developed in response to feedback from the BOEM’s government partners and other stakeholders.