a public Renewable Energy Leasing Schedule ; reforming BOEM ’ s auction regulations ; tailoring financial assurance requirements and instruments ; and improving the project design and installation verification process .
At the same time , because there are a number of offshore wind projects on the horizon , the U . S . Department of the Interior announced that it will transfer enforcement responsibility from BOEM to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (“ BSEE ”). This will include enforcing operational safety through inspections and investigations ; enforcing compliance with all applicable laws and regulations ; and overseeing decommissioning activities . Developers will now have to develop new relationships with BSEE to prevent any unforeseen enforcement actions . has sued to block BOEM ’ s approval of the Vineyard Wind Farm off the coast of Massachusetts . RODA believes that the wind farm will interfere with its traditional fishing grounds . In November and December 2022 , the parties filed respective summary judgment motions in federal court , which remain pending .
BOEM just issued two Draft Environmental Impact Statements for Sunrise Wind ( south of Martha ’ s Vineyard ) and the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (“ CVOW ”) project under development by domestic utility company Dominion Energy off the coast of Virginia . Public meetings were held on January 18 , 19 , and 23 , 2023 . We anticipate BOEM following the same process for the wind farms in the GoM .
State Approaches Vary The adjacent states of Texas and Louisiana have taken different approaches to the development of offshore wind off their coasts . To date , Texas Governor Abbott and his administration have not proposed or supported any legislation for offshore wind whereas Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards , his administration , and the Louisiana state legislature have passed a new climate action plan setting a 5 GW goal of installed OSW by 2035 . ( See
Louisiana Climate Action Plan .) State and local support is critical to the success of an OSW farm because eventually the wind must be brought ashore by underwater cable and added to the state ’ s existing energy system . This is usually done by the sale of energy to state utilities in the form of Power Purchase Agreements (“ PPAs ”).
Anticipated Challenges Some of the anticipated challenges to bringing offshore wind to Texas and Louisiana include :
FISHING CONFLICTS So far , oyster and shrimping interests have expressed serious concerns about OSW farms in the GoM . BOEM has tried to assuage their concerns by eliminating certain lease blocks from the Texas WEA due to shrimping efforts in the area .
The relationship between OSW developers and fishers has proven very difficult in the Northeast . A fishermen ’ s group , the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (“ RODA ”),
HIGHER CONSTRUCTION , MAINTENANCE , AND REPAIR COSTS Compared to onshore wind farms , offshore facilities are more expensive to construct because of the complex infrastructure needed to support them , including undersea foundations and transmission lines . Additionally , the permitting process to access the adjacent state ’ s utility transmission line grid could take years to achieve , especially with the Midcontinent Independent Service Operator (“ MISO ”) grid that encompasses many more states than Louisiana ( Texas is covered primarily by one system , the Electric Reliability Council of Texas ). ( See
What ’ s up with MISO , the Midcontinent Independent System Operator ?) Further , sea and wind conditions will make maintaining and repairing the turbines and blades more difficult and expensive . Offshore wind farms are more likely to be corporately owned versus operated by local cooperatives , which means less local investment and support , and higher private investment costs . ( See
Onshore vs offshore wind energy : what ’ s the difference ?)
EAST COAST WIND FARM ADVANTAGES Wind speeds in the GoM ( approximately eight meters per second ) are on average lower than along the East Coast ( around nine to10 meters per second ), which could mean
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