Offshore Wind Wire

BOEM Takes Next Step Towards Leasing MA Offshore Wind Sites

Boston – The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced today that it is publishing a Call for Information and Nominations to identify locations on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore Massachusetts for wind development. The agency is also seeking public comment regarding an environmental assessment that must be undertaken pursuant to the National Environmental [...]

MORNING ROUNDUP: Salazar, O’Malley Schedule “Major” Offshore Wind Announcement

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley are scheduled to appear tomorrow in Baltimore to announce a “major step” in regional offshore wind development, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced yesterday.
The officials will appear at the Baltimore World Trade Center with BOEM Director Tommy Beaudreau.
According to the announcement, the press conference will [...]

MORNING ROUNDUP: Duke Energy Plans NC Offshore Wind Transmission Study

Duke Energy is planning a $670,000 study on the transmission capacity required to develop offshore wind near North Carolina, the Charlotte Business Journal reported Friday.
The project would be supported by up to $530,000 in Energy Department funding, according to the report.
Maryland Labor Groups Want Guarantees
Maryland labor groups are asking for guaranteed involvement in offshore wind development in exchange for [...]

MORNING ROUNDUP: Dispute Over Cape Wind Timeline

Grid manager ISO New England released a report casting doubt on Cape Wind’s claims that it will be producing power by 2015, the Associated Press reported yesterday.
The January 3 report said that “the ISO and its consultants … have determined that it is unlikely that the project will achieve Commercial Operation” by June 1, [...]

ANALYSIS: NRG’s Offshore Wind Pullback

By Todd Griset
NRG Energy announced this week that it is “putting active development of offshore wind projects on hold for the near term.” This is a significant shift for NRG’s subsidiary Bluewater Wind and the projects it has been developing, and may have broader implications for the US offshore wind market. NRG [...]

Foreign Interest Solidifies Maine’s Status as the U.S. Leader in Deepwater Wind

By Peter Brennan
In late November the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced that it had received an unsolicited application for a deepwater test project from Norwegian energy giant Statoil. The proposed project would consist of four three-megawatt floating turbines located roughly 12 nautical miles south of Boothbay Harbor in the Gulf of Maine.
While the [...]

FAA Ruling Might Be Good For Cape Wind

By Peter Brennan
Last week, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned a ruling that Cape Wind’s turbines would pose no hazard to aviation, many assumed that the decision would be the latest setback to the project.

The company, however, believes that the opposite may be true.

The Federal Aviation Administration [...]

ANALYSIS: Explaining the Cape Wind/FAA Ruling

By Todd Griset
As reported by the Offshore Wind Wire, the proposed Cape Wind offshore wind project hit a legal snag last week.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an order overturning a finding by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that the Cape Wind project’s wind turbines would pose no [...]

RACE TO THE WATER: New Jersey Takes The Lead!

After a summer (and early fall) hiatus, the Race to the Water returns!
Welcome to the November edition, where we ask our experts which state will host the country’s first offshore wind turbines. And oh my, how the playing field has changed since we last checked in.
After holding the top spot for the first [...]

MORNING ROUNDUP: Court Rejects FAA Cape Wind Ruling

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled Friday that the Federal Aviation Administration erred in finding a “no hazard” determination for the proposed Cape Wind offshore wind farm.
According to the Associated Press report, the court “vacated” the FAA decision and ordered a new review.
“The FAA did misread its regulations, [...]