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

Construction Complete and all 12 Turbines Are Powered Up at the First U.S. Commercial-Scale Offshore Wind Farm Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and Ørsted announced the completion of the landmark South Fork Wind project on March 14, 2024.  Now, all 12 offshore wind turbines are fully constructed and the wind farm is successfully delivering power to...Read More

With the theme of “Awaken New Depths,” preparations for this year’s World Oceans Day on June 8, 2024 are gearing up with the annual photo competition hosted by the United Nations (U.N.) and judged by a panel of world-renowned experts. “Photography is a powerful medium to convey a feeling or a message. This open and...Read More

Since 2006, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Program has led national and international efforts to research, prevent, and reduce the impacts of marine debris. To accomplish its mission, the Program supports marine debris projects in partnership with state and local agencies, tribes, non-governmental organizations, academia, and industry. It also spearheads national research efforts...Read More

In a special meeting held on January 24, 2024, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities voted to approve two new additional offshore wind projects to Attentive Energy and Leading Light Wind, both of which will join previously approved Atlantic Shores Wind in bringing offshore wind to the state of New Jersey. “Both the projects...Read More

On December 19, 2023, the U.S. Department of State announced updated data on the outer limits of the U.S. continental shelf in areas beyond 200 nautical miles from the coast.  Since 2003, U.S. government agencies have been engaged in gathering and analyzing data to determine the outer limits of the U.S. extended continental shelf.  This...Read More

Today, the U.S. Navy, on behalf of NOAA, has awarded $146,778,932 to Skanska USA, from New York, to design and build a new NOAA facility on Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island. This facility will eventually be the new home of NOAA’s Marine Operations Center – Atlantic.  While the details of the facility’s design are...Read More

Central Atlantic Offshore Wind Proposed for Offshore Delaware, Maryland, Virginia On December 11, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced the proposal of an offshore wind lease sale in the Central Atlantic that includes one area offshore the States of Delaware and Maryland, and one area offshore the Commonwealth of Virginia. Lease Area A-2 consists of...Read More

For those whose interests are focused on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, particularly in research, offshore energy and marine mineral exploration, development and production, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has several upcoming events during early December 2023 in which to participate: BOEM Environmental Studies (ESP) 50th Anniversary Showcase It’s hard to believe it’s...Read More

October 31, 2023 marked the official federal government approval of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) commercial project – the fifth approval of a commercial-scale, offshore wind energy project since 2021.  The announcement supports the nation’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030, following the approval of the Vineyard Wind...Read More