BOEM finalises environmental review for wind leases in New York Bight
The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has completed an environmental review for six wind lease areas in the New York Bight, potentially generating up to 7GW of offshore wind energy.
This development supports the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of deploying 30GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.
The lease areas span 488,000 acres off the coasts of New York and New Jersey, with the potential to supply power to two million homes. BOEM’s review, known as the programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS), assesses measures to avoid, minimize, mitigate, and monitor environmental impacts. This PEIS represents BOEM’s first regional analysis across multiple lease areas and will inform future project-specific environmental assessments.
The auction for these lease areas, held in February 2022, generated over $4.3 billion, setting a record for US offshore energy lease sales. The review process included public engagement funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, with BOEM hosting public meetings and environmental justice forums to gather stakeholder input. The final PEIS considers 58 previously implemented measures and eight new ones aimed at reducing environmental impacts.
BOEM will publish the final PEIS in the Federal Register on October 25, 2024. BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein expressed appreciation for the feedback from Tribes, federal and state agencies, local communities, and other stakeholders, emphasizing that the regional approach provides a strong baseline for future environmental reviews of proposed projects in the New York Bight.
In contrast, BOEM delayed the scheduled auction for offshore wind leases off the coast of Oregon in September 2024 due to a lack of bidder interest.