In support of the Biden-Harris administration’s goals for deploying 30GW of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and 15GW of floating offshore wind energy capacity by 2035, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has announced the availability of its draft Environmental Assessment (EA) of the Wind Energy Area (WEA) located in the U.S. Gulf of Maine.
The draft EA analyzes the potential issuance of commercial wind energy leases offshore Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. It considers the potential environmental impacts associated with activities such as surveys and installation of meteorological buoys, but not installation of offshore turbines, which would be covered by a separate environmental review if a project proposal is submitted by a leaseholder.
On April 30, 2024, the Department of the Interior announced a proposed offshore wind energy lease sale in the Gulf of Maine, which would include eight potential leasing areas within the WEA offshore Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.