Delaware, New Jersey Offshore Wind Ramp Up as Central Atlantic Lease Sale Announced for Aug. 14

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has announced August 14, 2024 as the offshore wind lease sale date for the Central Atlantic areas including offshore Delaware.  Meanwhile, the Delaware Legislature sent corresponding enabling legislation on Sunday, June 30, 2024 to Delaware Governor John Carney for enactment. 

Oceantic Network Reports Delaware Energy Solutions Act of 2024 Expected to Become Law

The Oceantic Network, the leading organization working to advance offshore wind and other ocean renewable industries and their supply chains, noted the Delaware Legislature’s commitment to the development of offshore wind and advancing to the decarbonization goals outlined in the Climate Change Solutions Act of 2023 by passing Senate Bill 265, more commonly referred to as the Delaware Energy Solutions Act of 2024, which allows up to 1,200 MW of offshore wind energy procurement, encourages regional cooperation, and importantly includes provisions that will allow for streamlined development of onshore transmission, thus building a stronger regional market from which the state will benefit.  The bill now heads to Governor John Carney for final signature.  He has previously pledged his support, .  

When signed into law, SB 265 will enable Delaware will join fellow East Coast states as an active buyer of offshore wind power generation by establishing new procurement goals and authority.

Passage of the bill will also allow the state to capture even more of the economic benefits sparked by offshore wind development, including good-paying jobs associated with the area’s developing offshore wind supply chain.

Some Delaware residents have already witnessed massive wind turbine components for final fabrication in New Jersey sailing up the Delaware River aided by local pilots.  These maritime jobs will only grow as a major wind port finishes construction in the Delaware Bay.  Now, Maryland and New Jersey’s first offshore wind projects will begin construction as well.

The University of Delaware has been a leader in offshore wind policy and provides the offshore wind industry with well-trained graduates.

Crystal Steel Fabricators, headquartered in Delmar, emerged as an early and important steel provider with components coming out of its Eastern Shore facility in Federalsburg, Maryland. 

“Passage of the Delaware Energy Solutions Act represents a pivotal moment for Delaware and an important milestone for the offshore wind industry up and down the East Coast,” said Sam Salustro, vice president of strategic communications at Oceantic Network. “Delaware has always been an offshore wind pioneer and critical thought leader in the industry. The state now takes its rightful place as an active offshore wind state ready to play an important role supporting development of the regional supply chain. In addition to setting up a procurement process for the state’s first projects, the bill strengthens the wider market by creating processes for transmission siting so offshore wind energy can power people’s homes and businesses.  

BOEM, Department of the Interior Announces Offshore Wind Lease Sale in Central Atlantic

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced on June 28, 2024 that it would hold an offshore wind energy lease sale for areas in the Central Atlantic.

The lease areas to be auctioned on August 14, 2024 by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management could generate up to 6.3 gigawatts of clean, renewable energy and power up to 2.2 million homes. 

“We are taking action to jumpstart America’s offshore wind energy industry and using American innovation to deliver reliable, affordable power to homes and businesses, while also addressing the climate crisis. As we do, we are working collaboratively with states, Tribes and stakeholders to ensure we are making smart decisions and efficient use of our nation’s offshore resources,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said.

“We are excited to announce this sale and underscore our commitment to explore additional areas in the Central Atlantic for potential offshore wind energy development,” said BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein. “BOEM will continue to work with all ocean users to ensure offshore wind energy proceeds in an environmentally responsible manner.” 

Since 2021, the Department of the Interior has approved the nation’s first eight commercial-scale offshore wind energy projects in federal waters. BOEM has held four offshore wind lease sales, including offshore New York, New Jersey, and the Carolinas, and the first-ever sales offshore the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coasts. The Department recently announced a schedule of up to 12 additional lease sales through 2028.

To view the Final Sale Notice (FSN) published in the Federal Register on July 1, 2024, click HERE.

It includes one area offshore of the states of Delaware and Maryland, and one area offshore of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Lease Area A-2 consists of 101,443 acres and is approximately 26 nautical miles (nm) from Delaware Bay. Lease Area C-1 consists of 176,505 acres and is approximately 35 nm from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.  Seventeen companies qualified to participate in the August sale.  

BOEM also partnered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science to develop a comprehensive, ecosystem-based ocean planning model that assisted in the selection of the final lease areas. The FSN contains detailed information about the areas available for leasing, certain lease provisions and conditions, auction details, criteria for evaluating competing bids, and procedures for lease award, appeals, and lease execution.

Details on the FSN, along with a map of the area can be found on BOEM’s website. 

BOEM is including several lease stipulations and bidding credits that would reaffirm its commitment to create good-paying jobs and engage with ocean users and other stakeholders. Some of these stipulations, which are part of the FSN, include: 

• Providing a 12.5% bidding credit to bidders who commit to supporting workforce training programs for the offshore wind industry, developing a domestic supply chain for the offshore wind industry, or a combination of both.
• Providing a 12.5% bidding credit to bidders who establish and contribute to a fisheries compensatory mitigation fund or contribute to an existing fund to mitigate potential negative impacts from offshore wind energy development in the Central Atlantic to commercial and for-hire recreational fisheries.
• Stipulations that lessees make every reasonable effort to enter into a project labor agreement covering the construction stage of any project for the lease areas; communication plans for Tribes, agencies, and fisheries; and semi-annual reports on engagement activities with Tribes and communities.

BOEM will also continue to convene the Central Atlantic Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force to enhance collaboration and to explore and identify potential additional areas for future offshore wind leasing. These ongoing intergovernmental efforts include advancement of a December 2023 commitment and June 2024 Memorandum of Understanding that outline joint work by the federal government and the State of Maryland to evaluate additional areas off Maryland’s shores that could become wind energy areas and support the development of offshore wind projects.

New Jersey’s Atlantic Shores Wind Approved

On July 2, 2024, the Department of the Interior announced its approval of the Atlantic Shores South offshore wind energy project – the nation’s ninth commercial-scale, offshore wind energy project.

The Atlantic Shores South wind project consists of two wind energy facilities — Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Project 1 and 2 — and associated export cables, which are expected to generate up to 2,800 megawatts of electricity, enough to power close to one million homes with clean renewable energy. The project is approximately 8.7 miles offshore New Jersey at its closest point. To provide energy to New Jersey, Atlantic Shores South proposed up to 200 total wind turbine generators and up to ten offshore substations with subsea transmission cables potentially making landfall in Atlantic City and Sea Girt, New Jersey. BOEM has approved construction of up to 195 wind turbine generators.

On May 23, 2024, BOEM announced the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed project, which analyzed the potential environmental impacts of the activities outlined in the project’s construction and operations plan and considered reasonable alternatives. BOEM held four public meetings and a nation-to-nation consultation during the public comment period on the draft EIS to gather valuable feedback from Tribes, government agencies, ocean users, and others.  The feedback resulted in measures identified to avoid, minimize or mitigate the potential impacts of the project, including visual impacts and potential impacts to marine life and to existing ocean uses such as fishing. The Record of Decision describes these measures, which BOEM will require as terms and conditions of its approval of the Atlantic Shores South Construction and Operations Plan.

The “Notice of Availability of a Joint Record of Decision for the Proposed Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind South Project” will be published in the Federal Register in the coming days. For further information on the Atlantic Shores South Project, please visit BOEM’s website.