The ocean areas off the east coast of the United States, particularly from New Jersey to Massachusetts, are blessed with strong winds, relatively shallow waters, and proximity to major population centers with high electric energy demands, making them well suited for the location of large offshore wind farms.1 The promise is enormous, as illustrated by the success of the offshore wind industry in Europe, which by the end of 2016 had installed 3,589 offshore turbines with 12.6 gigawatts of generating capacity, with thousands of additional offshore turbines in the development pipeline.2
In December 2016, the Bureau of Ocean Management (BOEM) took a major step to advance the east coast offshore wind industry by holding an auction for the lease of a designated Wind Energy Area off the south shore of Long Island (the NY WEA)—a 127 square mile area capable of accommodating up to 194 wind turbines. Under the phased process established by the BOEM regulations,3 the purpose of the lease, in the first instance, is fairly limited: It will allow the lessee auction winner (an affiliate of Statoil) to assess conditions in the NY WEA pursuant to a site assessment plan to be approved by BOEM. If, after considering the extensive data gathered during this initial phase, Statoil wishes to construct the wind farm, it must then submit a construction and operations plan (COP) for review by BOEM. Only after BOEM reviews and approves the COP, and satisfies the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)4 prior to doing so, may Statoil proceed with building a wind farm in the leased area, subject to the conditions imposed in the approved COP.
