The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has issued a request to determine whether there is competitive interest in leasing an area offshore New York that the New York Power Authority has proposed for developing offshore wind energy.
BOEM must assess whether there are other parties interested in developing commercial wind facilities in the same area in order to determine whether it is appropriate to issue a lease on a non-competitive basis, or whether a competitive process is required.
The proposed project, which would be located about 11 nautical miles south of Long Beach, N.Y., is designed to generate at least 350 MW of electricity from offshore wind resources for the Long Island and New York City region, with the ability to expand generation capacity to as much as 700 MW – enough electricity to power an estimated 245,000 homes, according to BOEM.
The proposed lease area is approximately 127 square miles. In addition to inquiring about competitive interest, BOEM is also seeking public comment on the proposal, its potential environmental consequences and the use of the area in which the proposed project would be located.
More information is available here.
