Some Encouraging Developments: Submerged Land Leases in the Mid-Atlantic to Be Issued in 2012; New Funding Opportunities from DOE

Although we are already well into the first quarter of 2012, there are still a number of unresolved 2011 matters that deserve some attention. We are still grappling with the biggest elephant in the room-- that is, the on-going congressional effort to extend and/or authorize certain tax incentives (e.g., the Offshore Wind Investment Tax Credit ) designed to promote renewable energy projects. However, despite the ongoing lethargy and frustrations with respect to tax incentives, the Obama Administration continues to authorize agency initiatives supporting the development of a U.S. offshore renewable energy industry. In the last two days, both the Department of the Interior ("DOI") and the Department of Energy issued important and (pardon the pun) groundbreaking announcements impacting offshore wind.

DOI Announces Three Important Things in One Week!

Industry participants and observers alike are likely reeling from the sheer volume of industry-moving announcements issued by DOI in the last week.

First, on February 2, 2011, DOI Secretary Ken Salazar and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management ("BOEM") Director Tommy P. Beaudreau announced the results of the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA") environmental assessment ("EA") performed with respect to proposed Wind Energy Areas ("WEAs") located on the Outer Continental Shelf ("OCS") off the coasts of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. The Environmental Assessment, which was published today in the Federal Register, concluded that there would be no significant environmental and socioeconomic impacts from issuing wind energy leases in the designated mid-Atlantic WEAs.

The EA considered potential impacts arising out of site characterization and assessment activities that would need to occur before developers could build generation facilities on the OCS. These activities include geophysical, geotechnical, archeological and biological surveys and the installation and operation of meteorological towers and buoys. The EA will provide baseline data and provide substantial context for BOEM's consideration of future leasing proposals in the mid-Atlantic Wind Energy Areas and in the Bureau's review of developers' site assessment plans. If a lessee proposes a wind energy generation project on its lease, BOEM would prepare a separate site- and project-specific analysis under NEPA of its construction and operations plan, and provide additional opportunities for public involvement.

Although the NEPA clearance should enable developers to move forward more quickly with projects proposed for the mid-Atlantic WEAs, BOEM and DOI have yet to finalize the lease auction process through which developers must compete with one another for leases. Notwithstanding the pending auction methodologies, Secretary Salazar stated today that submerged land lease proposals for projects in the mid-Atlantic WEAs will be vetted before the end of 2012.

In DOI's press release, Depute Secretary of the Interior David J. Hayes offered the following comments on the EA and FONSI:

“Today’s announcement opens up the ‘sweet spots’ off the mid-Atlantic coast for development of our nation's remarkable offshore wind resource... Interior will continue to do its part to build a world-class offshore wind industry that provides clean, reliable, home-grown power and the American jobs that come with it.”

Second, in a surprisingly efficient move for BOEM, the Bureau simultaneously published Calls for Information and Nominations ("CFI") for WEAs located off of Maryland and Virginia. The CFIs were issued to solicit lease nominations from potential project developers and to request public comments regarding site conditions, resources and multiple uses of the Wind Energy Areas.

Finally, BOEM published a new submerged land lease form in the Federal Register. BOEM developed the lease form following consultation with the public and with industry representatives with the hope that the form will "streamline the issuance of renewable energy leases on the OCS." The lease form will be effective 15 days following publication, i.e., on February 17, 2012.

Readers, I know it's a lot to take in. But wait. There's more!!

DOE Wants to Give You Money!

On February 1, 2012, the US Department of Energy's Wind and Water Program published a notice in the Federal Register announcing its intention to release a Funding Opportunity Announcement ("FOA") tentatively entitled "U.S. Offshore Wind: Advanced Technology Demonstration Projects." The preliminary notice of the FOA has been published to solicit comments from the public and from prospective FOA applicants in advance of the final FOA publication on February 29, 2012.

This FOA is being issued in furtherance of one of the two primary goals set forth February 2011 DOE/DOI inter-agency Strategic Work Plan, an initiative designed to implement the Obama administration's National Offshore Wind Strategy. The two essential goals of the Strategic Work Plan included the creation and implementation of DOI's Smart from the Start program, and the creation of oversight of incentives and funding by DOE for innovative processes and technologies that will help lower the cost of offshore renewable energy to DOE's 2020 goal of $.10/kWh.

According to the Federal Register notice, DOE distributed $26.5 million to 19 offshore wind technology projects and $16.5 million to 22 "market-barrier removal" projects in 2011. The Federal Register notice does not indicate how much money will be available through this round of funding.

In addition to accepting comments by postal and electronic mail, DOE has scheduled a public meeting on February 7, 2012 from 9:30am to 12:30pm at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, 480 L'Enfant Plaza Southwest, Washington, D.C. to address comments and questions from the public and from prospective applicants.

2011 Wrap Up, Part 1: Northeast Projects Update

For offshore wind industry participants (and spectators), 2011 was a bit of an emotional roller coaster -- and some of the most intense drama occurred in the last days of December. From Congressional battles over expiring tax incentive legislation, to highly influential and precedential court decisions and project specific developments, the events of 2011 have set the stage for what could become a climactic 2012.

The next several posts will be dedicated to addressing where some high-profile projects left off in 2011 and considering where those projects may go in 2012 by geographical region. This post will discuss New England projects including Cape Wind, Deepwater Wind's Block Island project, and Anbaric Transmission's recently announced Bay State Offshore Wind Transmission System.

Massachusetts - Cape Wind: Another Year of Courtroom Battles Comes to a Close

As has been the case for most of the last decade, the bulk of activity relating to the proposed Cape Wind Offshore Wind farm in 2011 took place in the Courtroom. See e.g, Circuit Court ruling remanding FAA’s No Adverse Effect Decisions. However, in the final days of 2011, Cape Wind secured a favorable ruling from the Massachusetts Supreme Court upholding its proposed power purchase agreement (PPA) with National Grid. See Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound et al., v. Department of Public Utilities, et al., No. SJC-10934 (Dec. 28, 2011).

On December 28, 2011, the Massachusetts Supreme Court issued its decision to uphold the PPA between Cape Wind and National Grid (National Grid PPA). The National Grid PPA requires National Grid to purchase 50% of the energy, capacity and Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) produced by Cape Wind —i.e., up to 234 megawatts—and will extend for fifteen years beginning on the date that Cape Wind begins commercial operation. The National Grid PPA was the first to be approved under a provision of Massachusetts’ Green Communities Act that allows renewable energy generators to enter directly into long term contracts with utilities.

The lawsuit was filed in late 2010 after the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) issued a formal approval of the PPA. The plaintiff group, comprised of long-standing opposition group Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, trade organizations Associated Industries of Massachusetts and New England Power Generators Association, and Canadian energy distributer TransCanada Power Marketing, Ltd, alleged that (1) the National Grid PPA violates the commerce clause of the United States Constitution; (2) the DPU improperly found that the National Grid PPA was in the public interest and cost-effective; (3) the National Grid PPA should have been solicited through a competitive bidding process; and (4) the DPU made a mistake when it both approved a method for recovering project costs from all distribution customers and required the National Grid PPA to include financing provisions sufficient to fund development of a renewable energy generation source.

Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice Margot Botsford wrote in the decision that while the Massachusetts Green Communities Act does not explicitly address the authority of state regulators to approve cost-recovery methods for renewable power:

[I]t is well established that the (Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities)
has the statutory authority to rule on the appropriateness of proposed
cost-recovery formulas…

(T)he department's decision in this proceeding is not precluded by the fact that the proposed cost recovery method is novel, particularly in light of the new emphasis on development of renewable energy in the (Green Communities Act)…

The department permissibly determined that the environmental benefits of (the power purchase agreement) … will accrue to all National Grid customers, and it is therefore appropriate to require all customers to share in the costs of acquiring these benefits, in accordance with departmental precedent…

Although the affirming Supreme Court decision removes the uncertainty associated with outstanding legal challenges to the National Grid PPA, it remains to be seen whether the resolution of that challenge will yield sufficient confidence to inspire another utility to enter into a PPA with Cape Wind for the remaining 50% of its projected output.


Rhode Island- Block Island 5-Turbine Demonstration Project: 2012 Could Be The Year.

Following the resolution of a much belabored challenge to the Rhode Island Department of Public Utilities’ approval of its PPA, Deepwater Wind hopes that 2012 will be the year that they can begin construction on its five-turbine wind farm -- and recent events suggest that they may be able to bring that goal to fruition.

In late December, Rhode Island news sources reported that Deepwater Wind’s Chief Administrative Officer Jeff Grybowski has stated that the company will announce the involvement of a major new investor in early 2012. Although the identity of the new investor has not yet been announced, Grybowski said it is a “major global industrial company that sees a bright future for offshore wind.” The unnamed new investor will partner with investment management firm D.E. Shaw to fund the development of the Block Island wind farm, which is slated to be constructed within three nautical miles of Block Island in Rhode Island state waters.

Also in December 2011, Deepwater Wind hosted a public meeting to ensure sufficient public involvement and support for the proposed 15-mile transmission line that would connect the Block Island wind farm to the grid. The current plan shows the transmission line beginning at the 5-turbine Block Island Offshore wind farm, making landfall at the Narragansett Pier through the seawall and then following a route through Narragansett’s shorefront. The transmission line would and end at a private transmission station in South Kingstown before feeding into National Grid’s network. Deepwater has commited to spending $6 million to conduct environmental surveys of the sea floor and along the entire route where the transmission line would be constructed proposed, and along the route of a 14-mile cable that would link the project, and Block Island, to the Rhode Island power grid.

Deepwater Wind has stated that it hopes to complete the transmission line and the Block Island Wind facility by 2014.

New England Coastal Waters - Anbaric Transmission: An Offshore “Backbone” Transmission Line for the Northeast

Following the positive feedback from government agencies and some industry insiders in response to Atlantic Wind Connection’s proposed “backbone” transmission project for the Mid-Atlantic region (a/k/a, the "Google project"), it was only a matter of time before someone proposed to construct a similar project in the northeast. And so, it was not a huge surprise when Anbaric Transmission, an experienced subsea transmission project developer, announced in mid-November 2011 that it had filed a request for interconnection with the New England ISO for what it calls the “Bay State Offshore Wind Transmission System.”

The Bay State Offshore Wind Transmission system is designed to accommodate 2,000 MW of offshore wind energy and will serve generation developers who responded to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s Requests for Interest for designated Wind Energy Areas off of New England coastlines. See here, pg. 12-14. BOEM has received responses from ten developers proposing to build a total of 8,000 megawatts of offshore wind.

Anbaric Transmission has been involved with two previous subsea transmission projects: the Neptune Regional Transmission System, a 660-MW submarine connection between New Jersey and Long Island, and the Hudson Transmission System, a 660-MW line under construction beneath the Hudson River between New Jersey and Manhattan.

Federal Update: BOEM Requests Comments on Proposed Lease Auction Process

BOEM Issues Auction Format Information Request; Public Comments Due on January 12

On December 5, 2011, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a notice in the Federal Register entitled “Request for Information on the State of the Offshore Renewable Energy Industry—Auction Format Information Request (AFIR)” (AFIR) which seeks comments on proposed lease-sale auction procedures designated for offshore wind energy development on the Outer Continental Shelf. The AFIR provides for a 45-day public comment period set to expire on January 12, 2012. BOEM has also announced a workshop designed to educate stakeholders about the proposed auction format options and to solicit feedback. The workshop will take place on Friday December 16, 2011 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m at the South Interior Building in Washington, D.C. Additional information about the workshop can be found here.

The auction methods proposed in the AFIR were designed in consideration of BOEM’s program objectives, which include:

• BOEM’s statutory obligation to seek a “Fair Return” for leases granted on the OCS;
  economic efficiency;



• program efficiency and manageability;



• “lease boundary flexibility” to enable bidders to select optimal lease areas within the confines directed by BOEM;



• fair competition among all interested bidders;
  process transparency;



• equal treatment and consideration of all bids by BOEM; and



• consistency.

The AFIR proposes several potential auction formats for use in a variety of circumstances including single lot leases and multiple lot leases. For example, for single lot auctions, BOEM proposes to employ a “simultaneous ascending clock auction” or SACA format. Under a SACA, BOEM would set the minimum bid price for a specific lot. If more than one bidder is willing to meet the asking price, BOEM would increase the price incrementally, requesting bidder acceptance at each increase until only one bidder remains. If all bidders drop out at the same price point, BOEM has indicated a number of possible approaches to break the tie. BOEM has also suggested a number of rules that would apply to bidders in a SACA, such as minimum and maximum numbers of lots that a prospective bidder can bid upon.

For multiple lot auctions, BOEM proposes a number of alternative auction formats including variations on the SACA approach. One proposed alternative to the SACA approach would ask bidders to submit bids at or above the designated minimum lot price in each round of bids. The auction would end when each subsequent round of bidding yields the same bid prices as the previous round. BOEM would then award the lease to the bid producing maximum revenue.

A general description of the proposed auctions is provided in the AFIR. A more comprehensive explanation of the auction formats along with BOEM’s commissioned study of various auction formats for the issuance of renewable energy leases (conducted by Power Auctions LLC) is available here.

Court Orders Reconsideration of FAA Approvals for Cape Wind Offshore Wind Project

On Friday October 28, 2011, the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a decision vacating and remanding the Federal Aviation Administrations’ ("FAA") 130 identical Determinations of No Hazard which were issued with respect to the proposed Cape Wind 130-turbine offshore wind farm. See Town of Barnstable, et al, v. Federal Aviation Administration, No. 10-1276 (D.C. Cir. 2011).

Summary of the Decision

The lawsuit, filed by long-standing opposition group Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound (the “Alliance”) and the town of Barnstable, MA (together, the “Petitioners”), alleged that the FAA “violated its governing statute, misread its own regulations, and arbitrarily and capriciously failed to calculate the dangers posed to local aviation.” The FAA, along with intervening party Cape Wind Associates, LLC, responded by alleging that the petitioners had no Article III standing to challenge the FAA determinations. Id. at 3. Although the Court’s decision is likely to lead to additional delays for Cape Wind, the ruling does not per se negate the validity of the submerged land lease issued by the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) to Cape Wind in October 2010.

With respect to the threshold question of standing, the FAA argued that even if the Petitioners could allege harm, the fact that “FAA’s hazard determinations, by themselves, have ‘no enforceable legal effect’” means that reversal of the FAA hazard determinations would not redress the grievance. Id. at 5. Although the Court agreed that the FAA hazard determinations were not enforceable on their own, the DOI incorporated a provision into the submerged land lease requiring that Cape Wind abide by “any future mitigation measures that the FAA might deem necessary to reduce or eliminate a hazard on Cape Wind.” Id. at 6. Accordingly, the Court held that the DOI’s inclusion of the FAA hazard mitigation provision is sufficient basis to find it “‘likely as opposed to merely speculative,’ that [DOI would cancel or retract the Cape Wind lease] if faced with an FAA determination that the project posed an unmitigatable hazard.” Id. at 10 (additional citations omitted).

The Court then considered whether FAA properly issued its No Hazard Determinations. Although the petitioners’ alleged that the FAA violated both its governing statute (49 U.S.C. Sec. 44718(b)) and its own internal guidelines (“Procedures for Handling Airspace Matters”, FAA Order 7400.2G (April 10, 2008)), the Court’s ultimate ruling regarding the FAA’ hazard determinations rests solely on the FAA’s application of its internal guidelines. Id. at 10. Importantly, the Court did not issue a declaration stating that the Cape Wind turbines present a hazard – mitigatable or otherwise. Rather, the Court merely remanded the determinations to FAA “to require the FAA to address the issues and explain its conclusion.” Id. at 13-14.

What Happens Next?

There are at least two possibilities as to what will happen in the wake of the Circuit Court’s decision. First, the FAA and Cape Wind Associates could appeal the decision by submitting a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States. However, if the Supreme Court does not grant certiorari, the decision of the Appeals Court will stand. Moreover, even if the Supreme Court does choose to hear the matter, a Supreme Court affirmation of the lower court ruling could further dampen the perception that the U.S. offshore wind industry has the support of the U.S. government.

The alternative is for FAA to follow the Circuit Court’s order. FAA would be within its authority to re-issue all 130 Determinations with a “No Hazard” finding provided FAA includes further explanation of its conclusions. Under principles of administrative law, the FAA’s hazard determinations must not be "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law." 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A). In other words, the agency must “adequately explain its result…." Public Citizen, Inc. v. FAA, 300 U.S. App. D.C. 238, 988 F.2d 186, 197 (D.C. Cir. 1993).

Nevertheless, even if FAA finds that it must issue one or more determinations indicating a hazard, the Circuit Court decision indicates that FAA may make recommendations for mitigation measures to overcome these hazards. Accordingly, the only circumstance under which DOI may need to reconsider Cape Wind’s lease is in the event that FAA finds that there are unmitigatable hazards associated with the Cape Wind turbines.

Litigants’ Statements About the Case

Given the longstanding enmity between Cape Wind Associates and the Alliance, both parties issued public statements regarding the decision of the Circuit Court.

The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound issued a press release stating that the decision is "a resounding victory for the Cape and Islands community and the citizens of Massachusetts" and that the "FAA case is the first of multiple federal lawsuits challenging this poorly sited and expensive project and is just the tip of the iceberg of the problems the courts will consider relative to the Nantucket Sound location."

Cape Wind spokesman Mark Rodgers issued Cape Wind's official response to the decision: "The FAA has reviewed Cape Wind for eight years and repeatedly determined that Cape Wind did not pose a hazard to air navigation," he said. "The essence of today's court ruling is that the FAA needs to better explain its Determination of No Hazard ruling."

Offshore Wind Investment Tax Credit: House Companion Bill Introduced

On October 18, 2011, Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr. (NJ-D) introduced H.R. 3238. H.R. 3238 is the companion bill to S. 1397 (previously discussed here) which was introduced on July 21, 2011 by Senators Tom Carper (D-DE) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME). The bills, both titled the “Incentivizing Offshore Wind Power Act”, propose an extension of the investment tax credit (“ITC”) for qualified offshore wind energy generation projects.

The bills, which contain nearly identical provisions, call for the Treasury to select up to 3000 MW of offshore wind projects which will qualify for tax credits if they are placed into service over a 5 year period. The tax credit would be the same 30% ITC that is granted to many other renewable energy sources. The five year extension of the ITC for offshore wind projects has been proposed in recognition of the longer siting, permitting and finance process required for offshore renewable energy projects-- a process that is currently estimated to take between 5-7 years. The existing ITC has a sunset provision expiring in 2012 that will render nearly all of the proposed offshore wind projects ineligible for the credit.

Co-sponsors for the Senate bill include Sen. Sherrod Brown (OH), Sen. Benjamin Cardin (MD), Sen. Susan Collins (ME), Sen. Christopher Coons (DE), Sen. Frank Lautenberg (NJ), Sen. Robert Menendez (NJ), Sen. Jack Reed (RI), and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), all of whom represent states hosting active offshore wind development projects. The co-sponsor for the House bill is Representative Frank LoBiondo (NJ-R). There are at least three offshore wind generation projects proposed for both state and federal waters off the coast of New Jersey.

AWEA Offshore 2011: The Highlights

At last year's American Wind Energy Association Offshore Windpower Conference and Exhibition in Atlantic City, Secretary of the Interior Kenneth Salazar and Jim Gordon from Cape Wind signed the first-ever submerged land lease for an offshore wind farm on the United States' federally managed outer continental shelf. Many of those in attendance last year fully expected that the lease-signing would signal an increase in project momentum-- and many industry participants and observers fully believed that construction on the Nation's first offshore wind farm might begin in 2011.

At this year's Offshore Windpower Conference and Expo, attendees spent three days discussing what has happened-- and what has not happened-- since October 2010. Here are some quick highlights from the event:

Secretary Salazar and Maryland Governor O'Malley Present Keynote

The Conference kicked off with a keynote address presented by Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, AWEA CEO Denise Bode, Michelle Siekerka from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and program co-chairs Aileen Kenney (Deepwater Wind) and Jim Lanard (Offshore Wind Developers Coalition).

Following last year's lease signing, Secretary Salazar's comments seemed a little more subdued this year. Although the Secretary did not release any industry-shaking news, he affirmed that both he and the Obama administration are committed to creating an offshore wind industry in the United States. To that end, Secretary Salazar announced that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management expects to announce lease agreements for as many as five wind farms in as little as a few weeks or months.

Deepwater Wind Announces Siemens as Turbine Supplier

Deepwater Wind announced that it signed an agreement with Siemens Energy to buy the company’s latest offshore wind turbines for deployment in the Block Island Wind Farm, a project that remains on track to be the nation’s first offshore wind farm.

Under the agreement, Siemens will supply five of its new 6.0-megawatt direct drive offshore wind turbines for the Block Island Wind Farm. This will be the first project in the United States, and one of the first anywhere in the world, to use the new turbine, which will be commercially available for the project.

The Block Island Wind Farm is one of several proposed small demonstration-scale offshore wind projects (such as Fishermen's Energy's proposed 6-turbine project to be located 2.8 miles off of Atlantic City, NJ) that may become the first offshore wind farm built in North America. The Block Island Wind Farm is a 30-megawatt project to be located in Rhode Island state waters. The project also includes a transmission cable connecting the island to the mainland grid for the first time. Pursuant to a heavily litigated but now approved 20-year power purchase agreement, National Grid has agreed to buy all of the output from the project.

The project is scheduled to be in the construction phase in 2013 or 2014, although the timing of construction is dependent on the permitting process and final turbine specifications.

Highlights from the Developers' Panel

The last session of the conference offered attendees to hear updates from two full panels of offshore wind developers actively pursuing offshore wind projects in the United States. The thirteen developers on the two panels represented the largest number of developer panelists ever put on stage at an AWEA Offshore Windpower Event.

Developers represented on the panel included: Tim Ryan (Apex Wind/ North Carolina), Ian Hatton (Baryonyx/ Texas), Bill Moore (Deepwater Wind / Rhode Island), Doug Copeland (enXco / California), Andy Kinsella (Mainstream Renewable Power/ United Kingdom), Erich Stephens (Offshore MW), Dennis Duffy (Cape Wind Associates/ Massachusetts), Daniel Cohen (Fishermen's Energy/ New Jersey), Chris Wisseman (Freshwater Wind/ Ohio), Robert Gibbs (Garden State Offshore Energy/ New Jersey), Peter Mandelstam (NRG Bluewater Wind/ Delaware), Carolyn Heeps (RES-Offshore), and Theo de Wolff (Seawind Renewable Energy Corp.).

Following an opportunity for each developer representative to provide an overview of his/her company and project status, the panel responded to questions from the audience. One of the most compelling responses was offered up by Theo de Wolff from Seawind Renewable Energy. Jim Lanard asked the panel to consider whether the Department of Energy's recent grants (bestowed upon research and development facilities seeking to lower the cost of offshore renewable energy projects) were supporting the right technologies. Mr. de Wolff responded by saying that, with all due respect to the Department of Energy, at least some of the $43 million in grant money would be better spent deploying existing offshore wind technology and getting "steel in the water." Mr. de Wolff's comments echoed the frustration of many industry participants in the audience who responded with enthusiastic applause.

Finally, Jim Lanard presented his closing remarks by setting forth three challenges. His first challenge was to the federal government. He asked federal officials to be prepared to respond to the question, "what have you done for this industry lately?" at next year's Offshore Windpower event in Virginia Beach. Second, Jim challenged state officials to work harder to develop markets and market-promoting mechanisms that will enable developers to get projects into the water sooner. Finally, he challenged the non-governmental organizations to report back on how to reach consensus among parties with different opinions, approaches, objections and concerns about offshore wind.

DOI, BOEMRE issue new Call for Information

On August 17, 2011, the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement’s announced a Call for Information and Nominations (“CFI”) for the development of offshore renewable energy projects on the Outer Continental Shelf adjacent to the state waters of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Federal Register notice of the Call for Information and Nominations is available here.

The CFI invites developers to identify proposed project locations within the Area of Mutual Interest (“AMI”, also known as “the Call area”) identified by the state of Rhode Island and Massachusetts in a landmark agreement in July 2010. The Call area was designated in consideration of the Rhode Island Special Area Management Plan and through a process involving BOEMRE’s Rhode Island and Massachusetts Renewable Energy Task Forces, which include federal, state, and tribal government partners.

BOEMRE is also seeking public comment – through a Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment – on important environmental issues and reasonable alternatives related to the proposed leasing, site characterization and assessment activities in the offshore area under consideration. The Notice of Intent to prepare the EA is available Request for Interest (RFI) regarding another area of the Outer Continental Shelf adjacent to Massachusetts state waters. BOEMRE is currently reviewing the information and nominations received in response to the RFI and will be drafting a separate Call to determine competitive interest after consulting with the BOEMRE – Massachusetts Renewable Energy Task Force. Once BOEMRE has completed its review of the RFI responses and public comments, the agency plans to issue a Call for Information and Nominations and will prepare an environmental assessment.

On August 18, 2011, Neptune Wind, an ocean-based renewable energy developer headquartered in Winchester, MA, announced its plan to respond to the CFI with a proposal to develop, construct and operate a 500 MW offshore wind farm approximately 20 nautical miles south of the Massachusetts/Rhode Island border. The project, entitled Nomans Wind, would be constructed in depths ranging from 20 to 40 meters and will employ turbines featuring a jacket structure foundation press release, Neptune Wind stated that it expects to submit its response and proposal by the October 3, 2011 deadline.