America’s Offshore Wind Momentum Continues With Next Steps Announced for Gulf of Maine

The following day, 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.  The publication of these Federal Register notices on August 19, 2022, initiated two separate 45-day comment periods that will close on Monday, October 3, 2022, representing one of the many steps the BOEM has taken to acquire the best available information and knowledge for its decision making.  The agency explained that it has done extensive work to emphasize the use of science and has evolved its processes upon receiving stakeholder input to promote transparency prior to identifying wind energy areas for leasing that result in the least impact on other ocean users.

“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 traditional knowledge from ocean users and other stakeholders in our planning and leasing process,” said BOEM Director Amanda Lefton.  “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.”

Over the past year, the American offshore wind industry has celebrated the groundbreaking of the nation’s first two commercial-scale, offshore wind projects in federal waters.  By 2025, the Interior Department plans to hold up to five additional offshore lease sales and complete the review of at least 16 plans to construct and operate commercial, offshore wind energy facilities, which would represent more than 22 gigawatts of clean energy for the nation.

In addition, investments from the recently signed Inflation Reduction Act will lower energy costs by hundreds of dollars per year for families by making clean energy more affordable and accessible.  The Act will create good-paying jobs by spurring an unprecedented expansion in clean energy deployment and manufacturing of more than 120,000 wind turbines.

Learn more including how to comment on the following pages:

• Commercial: Planning and Leasing Process
• Research: State of Maine Lease Application

Guice Offshore, widely considered to be the U.S Flag leader in the operation of dynamically positioned Jones Act-qualified mini-supply vessels and compact, cost-effective multi-purpose vessels for specialty markets such as offshore wind energy, is playing a pivotal role in providing one of the primary needs in the offshore wind supply chain–offshore supply vessels for a multitude of needs, including crew transfer, equipment transport and subsea surveying.   Guice Offshore has worked extensively in the northeastern United States on offshore wind surveys and related jobs for several years now.

Request for Interest for Maine Commercial Offshore Wind Planning and Leasing

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.  Its purpose 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 seeks feedback from stakeholders, industry, Tribes, ocean users, and others regarding the location and size of specific areas they wish to be included in (or excluded from) a future offshore wind energy 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.

Request for Competitive Interest for Maine’s Research Lease

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.

The 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, the agency 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.

The BOEM is inviting 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 (i.e., 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.

Importance of Best Available Science and Stakeholder Engagement

BOEM continues to work closely with its federal, Tribal and state partners to employ the best available science, information and knowledge.  This collaborative effort will identify the least conflicted areas that still deliver the renewable energy capacity necessary to meet the targets set by the Biden Administration and state renewable energy goals.

The BOEM is funding several priority studies to inform any potential commercial leasing and development in the Gulf of Maine. 

The BOEM has invested $80 million to collect baseline information in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Maine to date.  Recently funded studies include:

• BOEM Ecosystem Based Management Study: Standardizing Integrated Ecosystem Based Assessments (SIEBA)  
• Ecological Baseline Study of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf Off Maine 
• Comprehensive Assessment of Existing Gulf of Maine Ecosystem Data and Identification of Data Gaps to Inform Future Research

In conjunction with the SIEBA study, BOEM will be working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science to develop ecosystem-based models to support and inform BOEM’s identification of lease areas.

More information, including maps of the RFI and RFCI areas and how to comment, can be found on BOEM’s Gulf of Maine webpage.

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 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 13,713,825 acres in the Gulf of Maine.  The RFI Area follows the RFI Development Framework shared at the May 2022 Task Force meeting, and mirrors the Draft RFI Area, with the exception of the expanded RFCI area, which is described in detail on the Maine Research Application page.

Through the RFI, BOEM seeks feedback from stakeholders, industry, Tribes, and others regarding the location and size of specific areas they wish to be included in (or excluded from) a future offshore wind energy 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.

• RFI Federal Register Notice
• RFI Shapefile
• RFI Blocks
• RFI Nautical Chart Map
• Gulf of Maine Data Inventory (updated 8/12/2022)
  • Note: BOEM created this Data Inventory to share a current snapshot (i.e., at the time of RFI publication) of the publicly available data layers it is currently considering as part of the planning process. BOEM is actively working with Federal and state partners to identify and request other known data sources in the Gulf of Maine. The creation of this Inventory is in response to feedback received at the May 2022 Task Force meeting, and is intended to help inform the public in providing comments on the RFI. BOEM will periodically update this document as more data become available and are incorporated into the planning and analysis.