The Department of the Interior (DOI) announced during September 2024 that it will hold an offshore wind energy lease sale on Octobert 29, 2024, for eight areas on the Outer Continental Shelf off Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.  If fully developed, these areas have a potential capacity of approximately 13 gigawatts of clean offshore wind...Read More

On August 19, 2024, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced that America’s first floating offshore wind energy research lease will be in Maine. The lease area covers a little under 15,000 acres located 28 nautical miles offshore Maine on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf and could allow for the deployment of up to...Read More

During late July, the federal government advanced a new offshore wind project in the Gulf of America, while delaying an auction that was set to occur just one year after the region’s first lease sale in 2023.  The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced it was advancing an unsolicited lease request from U.S. renewable energy...Read More

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...Read More

If you’re a marine research professional, oceanographer or ocean scientist, you’ll want to see the new Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) FY2025-2026 Studies Development Plan (SDP) published on June 12, 2024.  BOEM contacts for each study are outlined in the Plan.  As part of the agency’s commitment to acquire and use the highest quality...Read More

During late April 2024, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) finalized updated regulations for renewable energy development on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) that will increase certainty and reduce the costs associated with the deployment of...Read More

Watch the BOEM Maritime Heritage Video Series HERE. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has published a series of short videos showcasing 19th century underwater Gulf of America shipwreck sites that have been nominated for placement on the National Register of Historic Places.  The videos explore the captivating realm of shipwrecks and archaeology. They...Read More

Final rule will make offshore renewable energy development more efficient, save billions of dollars Renewable Energy Modernization Final Rule Fact Sheet: Renewable Energy Modernization Final Rule Renewable Energy Leasing Schedule Overview  At the Oceantic Network International Partnering Forum in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 24, 2024, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced that the...Read More

Study Finds Interregional Offshore Transmission Network Would Support Long-Term Growth of Atlantic Offshore Wind, Action Plan Identifies Immediate Steps and Extended Efforts During late March 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released findings from the Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission Study, a two-year study evaluating transmission options to support offshore wind energy deployment along the...Read More

America’s offshore wind industry made several significant advances in recent weeks, notably highlighted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issuing two Record of Decisions (RODs) to begin construction:  the Eversource and Ørsted Sunrise Wind offshore wind energy project and Avangrid’s New England Wind offshore wind project (formerly Vineyard Wind South).  The federal government...Read More