US approves wind energy project offshore Atlantic City

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has approved the construction and operation of the Ocean Wind 1 project offshore New Jersey. Located 13 nautical miles southeast of Atlantic City, the project includes up to 98 wind turbines and up to three offshore substations and will have an estimated capacity of 1100 MW.

The decision also documents monitoring and mitigation measures that Ocean Wind will undertake to reduce potential impacts on protected species, such as marine mammals, sea turtles, and Atlantic sturgeon. Measures include vessel speed restrictions and clearance zones during construction.

Meanwhile, BOEM has issued a finding of ‘no significant impacts on environmental resources’ from offshore wind leasing on the US Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico, a key milestone towards the first offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf.

On 31 October 2022, BOEM announced two Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) offshore Texas and Louisiana that total about 682,000 acres – a subset of the 30-million-acre Call Area announced in November 2021. On 22 February, 2023, BOEM announced its proposal for the first offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico for areas within the WEAs.

BOEM prepared an environmental assessment (EA) of the entire 30-million-acre Call Area to identify additional

WEAs. The EA considered potential environmental consequences of site characterisation activities (i.e., biological, archeological, geological, and geophysical surveys and core samples) and site assessment activities (i.e., installation of meteorological buoys) associated with issuing wind energy leases in the Gulf of Mexico.

If BOEM proceeds with the sale, the bureau will publish a Final Sale Notice at least 30 days ahead.