Offshore Wind: BOEM Fields Pair of Unsolicited Bids

BOEM has received unsolicited lease requests from two companies seeking to develop offshore wind energy on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). These requests are for areas located offshore New York and Massachusetts and are not in response to a formal call for interest.

 

BOEM has finished its review of the unsolicited lease requests and deemed the requests complete. Moreover, BOEM has reviewed the applicants' qualification materials and determined that the applicants are legally, technically, and financially qualified to pursue offshore wind energy leases. Please see details regarding each request below. 

 

Offshore New York. PNE Wind USA, Inc. submitted an unsolicited lease request for 40,920 acres offshore New York. The unsolicited lease request is available on BOEM's website at https://www.boem.gov/New-York/.  If BOEM decides to move forward with this application, the next step will be to issue a public notice to determine whether there is competitive interest in bidding for the area.

 

Offshore Massachusetts. PNE Wind USA, Inc. and Statoil Wind US LLC both submitted unsolicited lease requests for previously unleased areas in the wind energy area offshore Massachusetts.  Lease area OCS-A 0502 is approximately 248,015 acres and Lease area OCS-A 0503 is approximately 140,554 acres. Due to the fact that both parties nominated the same area, BOEM has determined that competitive interest exists and plans to proceed with the competitive leasing process outlined in BOEM's regulations. The unsolicited lease requests are available on BOEM's website at https://www.boem.gov/Massachusetts/.

 

BOEM will continue to engage key stakeholders, including members of the New York and Massachusetts Renewable Energy Task Forces (made up of Federal, state, and local government agencies) and stakeholders from adjacent states to keep them informed of BOEM's leasing process and next steps.