“BOEM recognizes the proactive steps that the commonwealth has taken to encourage environmentally sound offshore wind energy development and we are working together to refine a suitable Wind Energy Area off the coast of Massachusetts,” said BOEM Director Tommy P. Beaudreau. “We will follow marine spatial planning principles as we continue to gather information and coordinate with other OCS users throughout the leasing process.”

According to a BOEM press release, the Call Area under consideration is located off the coast of Massachusetts beginning approximately 12 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and 13 nautical miles southwest of Nantucket. From its northern boundary, the Call Area extends 33 nautical miles southward to the 60 meter depth contour and has an east/west extent of approximately 47 nautical miles. The Call Area is approximately 826,241 acres and contains 132 whole OCS lease blocks as well as 19 partial blocks.

BOEM plans to conduct information sessions in Massachusetts during the comment period to explain the commercial leasing process and provide additional opportunities for public input on the scope of the Environmental Assessment. Details will be posted on BOEM’s website:  http://www.boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Program/State-0Activities/Massachusetts.aspx.

Baltimore – Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced today that leases for offshore wind development off of Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and Delaware would be issued by the end of 2012 after an environmental review resulted in a finding of no significant environmental impact. The announcement follows President Obama’s call for additional clean energy development in his State of the Union address last week.

“When it comes to powering our nation’s homes, businesses and economy, we need to take an all-of-the-above approach to safely and responsibly developing our domestic energy resources,” Secretary Salazar said. “Offshore wind holds incredible potential for our country, and we’re moving full-steam ahead to accelerate the siting, leasing and construction of new projects.”

Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) first had to conduct an environmental assessment of the proposed lease sites. This recently completed assessment found that there would be no significant environmental and socioeconomic impacts from issuing wind energy leases in the previously designated Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) lease areas off the mid-Atlantic Coast.

According to OWW contributor and wind energy expert Todd Griset, the finding of no significant impact (FONSI) will allow BOEM to move forward with the leasing process without preparing a more intensive and time consuming environmental impact statement. However, the assessment does not permit construction or cover any specific projects.

BOEM has received several responses to a Request for Interest issued in 2010 for lease areas off of Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia, and lease blocks in these areas will be awarded based on an auction held sometime this year. BOEM received only one response to the RFI for the lease blocks off of Delaware, and will issue a non-competitive lease to that developer sometime this year, presuming that the developer is still interested.

Overall, the announcement was met with excitement by industry observers.

“Today’s announcement gives us hope that the United States will now be able to develop our enormous offshore wind resources more quickly – and deliver the enormous economic, environmental and public health benefits that come with them.” said Kit Kennedy, Clean Energy Counsel for the NRDC.

“This is a critical step in the establishment of the U.S. offshore wind industry, which will create thousands of high skilled jobs and allow for billions of dollars in investment.” added Jim Lanard, President of the Offshore Wind Development Coalition.

The officials will appear at the Baltimore World Trade Center with BOEM Director Tommy Beaudreau.

According to the announcement, the press conference will focus on a “major step towards developing wind energy on the Outer Continental Shelf off the coasts of Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and Delaware.”

Former Congressman Will Support Offshore Wind Project For Free

Former Massachusetts Rep. Bill Delahunt has announced that he will not accept payment for his consulting work to support the town of Hull’s offshore wind project, the Patriot Ledger reported yesterday.

Delahunt was recently criticized in several high-profile articles for consulting on the Hull project shortly after helping them secure federal funding.

“It’s a big plus for us,” said Patrick Cannon, who heads the Hull Municipal Light Board. That money “can be spent toward that project.”

UK Company Teams With Samsung On New Offshore Wind Gear System

U.K.-based company David Brown is working with Samsung Heavy Industries to design, develop and build a new 7 megawatt wind turbine gearbox, North American Windpower reported today.

This week Gov. Martin O’Malley unveiled his revised plan for offshore wind development off Maryland.

Previous efforts to promote economic development through offshore wind have failed to gain legislative approval.  Gov. O’Malley is back with the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2012 (Senate Bill 237) a retooled proposal that he touts as both empowering economic development and necessary to meet Maryland’s statutory renewable electricity requirements.

Maryland possesses an abundant offshore wind resource.  A 2010 report by the University of Delaware’s Center for Carbon-free Power Integration, College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment found that even after excluding areas where electricity generation would conflict with shipping, Maryland waters could host over 39 gigawatts of nameplate capacity and could produce over 117 terawatt-hours per year.  To put this in context, all electricity customers in Maryland consume only 65 terawatt-hours per year.

Full build-out of this projected offshore wind generation could produce up to 179 percent of Maryland’s electricity needs.  (Gov. O’Malley’s current vision appears to be more modest, with offshore wind providing up to about a third of Maryland’s needs.)

Maryland is also favorably postured towards renewable energy from a policy perspective.  Under Maryland’s renewable energy portfolio standard, utilities must source increasing amounts of electricity from renewable generators.  By 2022, 20 percent of electric load must be served by renewable resources. 

O’Malley has stated that Maryland will need a substantial investment in offshore wind to satisfy that standard.  To facilitate that investment, last year O’Malley introduced House Bill 1054, the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act (of 2011).  That proposal would have required developers to compete before the Maryland Public Service Commission for long-term contracts with the state’s four investor-owned electric companies.

The vision for this first phase encompassed between 400 and 600 MW of offshore wind capacity, located at least 10 nautical miles offshore Maryland or within the federal waters adjoining another state within the mid-Atlantic electric grid run by PJM.  Contracts would likely have been more costly than for traditional resources, especially in early years, so customers would pay a special charge to divide costs equitably.

Ultimately, the 2011 proposal did not meet with legislative approval.  Costs were a key concern, with estimates of between $2.16 and $8.70 in increased monthly costs for the average ratepayer.  Legislators also raised questions about how much Maryland would actually experience economic development benefits through the program.

This year’s Maryland offshore wind bill was presented as a resolution of some of these challenges.  Proponents compare the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2012 to New Jersey’s 2010 Offshore Wind Economic Development Act, which managed to win broad support from both legislators and Gov. Chris Christie.

Mandated long-term contracting is gone from Maryland’s 2012 offshore wind bill.  Instead, O’Malley’s 2012 bill features a specific renewable portfolio standard for offshore wind – 2.5 percent, starting in 2017. Utilities would comply with this standard by acquiring ORECs or offshore wind renewable energy credits. This offshore wind carve-out would not automatically increase, unlike the overall renewable mandate or an existing carve-out for solar energy.  Utilities could make their own arrangements to satisfy this standard, buying ORECs or developing qualifying projects, subject to state regulatory review.

The 2012 bill also comes with a lower price tag than last year’s proposal, along with stronger cost-containment.  Official estimates suggest the measure would add an estimated $1.50 to $2 to average residential consumers’ monthly bills.  Customers would feel this increase in the form of increased utility supply costs, but would not see a specific offshore wine line item on their bills.  If the Public Service Commission projects cost increases of more than $2 a month, the program will be suspended.

Will O’Malley’s 2012 offshore wind bill meet more support than his previous efforts?   If it is passed, will it lead to offshore wind development off Maryland?

Maryland can point to program improvements and lessons learned from other states such as New Jersey, although as of today no commercial offshore wind projects operate in US waters.  Whether Maryland’s offshore wind resource is developed in the near term may depend in part on how the Maryland legislature reacts to the revised pitch.

Todd J. Griset practices energy law with Preti Flaherty Beliveau & Pachios in Maine. He also writes a blog on offshore wind, renewable energy and policy issues.

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 their support on Gov. Martin O’Malley’s resubmitted plans, the Baltimore Sun reported Friday.

“There’s got to be something written in the bill to include organized labor for us to totally commit to the project,” said Rod Easter, president of the Baltimore Building & Construction Trades Council. “We cannot be standing on the curb watching people go to work who don’t live in Maryland.”

Former Congressman In Spotlight For Consulting Work

Former Massachusetts congressman William Delahunt’s office denied any conflict of interest in consulting work on an offshore wind project for which he also earmarked federal funds, the Boston Globe reported.

Delahunt helped the town of Hull receive $1.7 million in federal funds for an offshore wind project and recently received a $72,000 contract to provide strategic guidance on the same issue.

“I think what’s been spun out there is that somehow we’ve been hired by the town to lobby, and that’s not true,’’ said Mark Forest, executive director of The Delahunt Group. “We’re not lobbying; we’re providing guidance and counsel to the town … we’ve had a lot of experience in this area. And our hope is that there is something productive that can be done in this area.’’

So, have you finished reading through your backlog of Top Ten (and Top 11) lists of 2011?

We understand. Looking back on the past year is usually fun (and easy to write). We’ve fallen prey to that temptation ourselves. But in many ways, 2011 was a tough year for the emerging offshore wind industry. Tax incentives and loan guarantees went from uncertain to unlikely. A major project suspended development.

This has all been reported, and we are not going to dwell. We here at Offshore Wind Wire are looking forward to an exciting year. There are so many questions on our minds.

Will federal politicians match policy to rhetoric and actively support the offshore wind industry? Will Fishermen’s Energy deliver on its very ambitious timeline? Can Cape Wind continue its recent momentum and find a buyer for the second half of the project’s planned output? And what will BOEM change its name to this year? (We’re hoping for an unpronounceable symbol).

So, without further ado, here are the top six stories to watch in 2012:

1) The Production Tax Credit

This extension of the PTC is depicted as a make-or-break issue for the industry, but the larger issue is the sporadic approach that Congress has taken to this and other renewable energy incentive programs. As Todd Griset noted in an excellent November column, over the past two decades the PTC “has faced expiration and been extended seven times.” If Congress is serious about developing an offshore wind industry (and that’s an open question) it will need to provide a longer-term strategy. Last July’s Incentivizing Offshore Wind Power Act would be a good start.

2) Fishermen’s Energy

New Jersey-based Fishermen’s Energy has said that they will be able to begin land based construction this year, put “steel in the water” in 2013 and have turbines spinning by Labor Day of that year.  It all apparently hinges on a decision from the state’s board of public utilities. If the project hits, or comes close to, these goals then it seems as if New Jersey will have the first operational offshore wind farm.

3) North Carolina

North Carolina advocates have repeatedly touted their state as having the best offshore wind in the country. When BOEM opens the leasing process for the Tar Heel state, low development costs and a strong resource will present the industry with an enormous opportunity.

4) Cape Wind Buyer

The Cape Wind project received some good news at the end of 2011, when Massachusetts’ highest court approved the power purchase agreement between the developer and National Grid. Company officials are now hoping that the good news will translate into a buyer for the second half of the project’s electricity. In comments to the Associated Press, Cape Wind Vice President Dennis Duffy said that the court’s “decision was a major point, giving everybody a lot of real confidence in the project … the investment community has duly noted that event.”

5) Maryland Legislation

Last year, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley introduced a bold plan – requiring utilities to purchase electricity from offshore wind projects. The Maryland legislature was less bold, and got tied up in discussions of conflict of interest and ratepayer costs. O’Malley, thankfully, is back at it. His plan is before the legislature again and Maryland citizens rallied this week at the statehouse to support offshore wind development. If this plan goes through, it will be a testament to political perseverance and grassroots organizing.

6) Floating Turbines in Maine

Maine has been at the forefront of deepwater floating turbine technology for some time now, largely thanks to the efforts of Habib Dagher, UMaine professor and leader of the DeepCWind Consortium. In November it was announced that Norwegian energy giant Statoil had taken an interest in developing a deep water project in the Gulf of Maine. While BOEM will not issue a decision on Statoil’s application until 2014, the Maine Public Utilities Commission is currently reviewing proposals for a deepwater floating pilot project off of Monhegan Island that would consist of eight three-megawatt turbines. The PUC hopes to decide on a developer by early 2012. At that point the future of deepwater wind in the Gulf of Maine will become more clear.

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, 2015.

The company disagreed with the ISO New England assessment.

“We think it is very likely we’ll be online by June 2015, either in whole or in part,” said Cape Wind Vice President Dennis Duffy.

Atlantic City Project Aims For 2013 Commissioning

Fishermen’s Energy vice president and senior counsel Paul Gallagher said yesterday that his company’s Atlantic City offshore wind project is almost ready to begin construction, the Press of Atlantic City reported today.

Construction is waiting on a decision in March from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on the sale of the project’s electricity.

“We have arranged our financing, selected our turbines and lined up our contractors … We are, in what Obamaspeak refers to, as ‘shovel ready,’” Gallagher said. The decision in March “will allow us to put steel in the water next summer (2013), with turbines installed in August and power being generated by Labor Day 2013.”

Maryland Rallies For Offshore Wind

Over 100 protesters rallied at the Maryland statehouse this week to urge state lawmakers to support Gov. Martin O’Malley’s offshore wind plan, the Huffington Post reported.

As the US Coast Guard updates its management of coastwise navigation in Atlantic waters, the service is considering the impacts of offshore wind projects and other ocean energy development.

Through the end of January, the Coast Guard is accepting public comment on how renewable ocean energy facilities might affect users of near-coastal waters.  The process reflects the need to balance the potential for offshore wind in US waters against the realities of modern navigation.
 
Ocean energy resources have significant potential.  Many coastal states have enacted policies to promote the development of offshore wind resources, both close to shore and in deeper water.  New and emerging hydrokinetic and other technologies may give us cost-effective ways to harness the power of tides, marine currents, and waves.

In most cases, the generating equipment will be installed in the ocean, and will be connected to the mainland via an underwater transmission cable.  While each site and each technology has its nuances, overall the Coast Guard recognizes that ocean energy development has the potential to affect shipping and navigation.
 
To update its navigation rules and routes, and to help it balance navigation with renewable ocean energy, the Coast Guard kicked off an Atlantic coastwise Port Access Route Study in May 2011.  Unlike previous port access route studies, this study did not focus on approaches to individual ports as much as on the coastwise shipping routes.  The Coast Guard’s current study is thus targeted at near coastal users of the Western Atlantic Ocean – people plying routes between coastal ports.

Noting that several federally designated Wind Energy Areas lay near or on top of shipping routes, the Coast Guard hoped that the study would identify “all current and new users of the Western Atlantic near coastal zone, and help the Coast Guard determine what impact, if any, the siting, construction and operation of proposed alternative energy facilities may have on existing near coastal users of the Western Atlantic Ocean.”
 
By the time the comment period closed in August, the Coast Guard had received only 26 comments.  These comments focused on issues relevant to oceangoing shipping and coastwise tug and barge traffic, primarily in the Mid-Atlantic.  The limited scope of these comments, both in terms of geography and type of use, appears not to have fully satisfied the Coast Guard.
 
In December, the Coast Guard announced that it would reopen the comment period on the study, stating, “In addition to the Mid-Atlantic region, the Coast Guard has become aware of private sector interest in developing wind energy and hydrokinetic installations off the coasts of Maine, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.” 

The Coast Guard also expressed interest in hearing from other kinds of marine users, including commercial fishing vessels, small passenger vessels, sightseeing and eco-tour vessels like whale watching boats, recreational and charter fishing vessels, yachts, and sailing vessels.
 
In an attempt to gather information from stakeholders using these waters outside the Mid-Atlantic, the Coast Guard now seeks comments through January 31.  Comments can be submitted to the Coast Guard online, or by fax, mail, or hand delivery.  If the US offshore wind industry and other renewable ocean energy projects begin to grow, the use of the seas to produce energy will have to be balanced against navigation and other marine uses.  How that balance shapes up will be determined in part by the public comments submitted to the Coast Guard.

Todd J. Griset practices energy law with Preti Flaherty Beliveau & Pachios in Maine. He also writes a blog on offshore wind, renewable energy and policy issues.

The research buoy utilized a laser wind sensor to capture wind speed and direction at varying heights, while other components of the buoy collected data on more than 100 factors. The buoy was designed and manufactured by AXYS technologies, and featured a Vindicator laser wind instrument by Catch the Wind.

Arn Boezaart, director of GVSU’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center, would not divulge specifics, but did say that the initial results indicate that the wind quality seemed to improve the farther out in the lake the buoy went and higher up the laser measured, according to the Muskegon Chronicle. “Out on the lake, we found more wind and it was more robust,” Boezaart told the Chronicle, “The farther out in the lake and the higher up you go, the more wind we found and winds of better quality.”

Dr. Lorry Wagner, President of the Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo), was intrigued by the study and impressed with the capabilities and sturdiness of the buoy. “Everyone in the Great Lakes wind community is very impressed by GVSU’s accomplishment and excited to learn more about the data collected by the buoy” said Dr. Wagner, “Hopefully we can get it (the buoy) to Lake Erie next.”

The plan would compel utilities to buy power from offshore wind farms.

“The situation has gotten worse — not better — for offshore wind since the last time it was up for debate,” said Del. Dereck Davis, chairman of a committee whose support is crucial to to O’Malley’s plan.

The Chesapeake Bay Journal, meanwhile, reported on Friday that offshore wind support is increasing in mid-Atlantic states.

The Annapolis Capital reported that Maryland clean energy activists believe that New Jersey’s offshore wind legislation would provide a good model for their state.