The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will be hosting three public meetings and a webinar to discuss feedback that we have received from a recently published Call for Information and Nominations (Call) for potential offshore wind energy leasing and development in the New York Bight.
The meetings will be held at the following locations:
Monday, Sept. 17, 2018 | Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018
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Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018 | Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2018 |
At each meeting, BOEM will present its most recent analysis that incorporates comments received from the Call. In addition, there will be an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback to help inform BOEM’s decision-making process.
Background
The Call was published in the Federal Register on April 11, and sought nominations from companies interested in commercial wind energy leases within the proposed areas in the New York Bight. In addition to industry nominations, the Call also sought public input on the potential for wind energy development in the Call Area. This included information related to site conditions, resources (i.e. avian, fish, marine mammals, turtles), and other uses of the sea and seabed either in or near the Call Areas. This information is relevant to BOEM’s review of any industry nominations submitted, as well as BOEM’s analysis of the suitability of the Call Areas for commercial wind leasing.
BOEM received 132 comments and nine nominations in response to the Call. The proposed Call Areas are located in the New York Bight region and are delineated as Fairways North, Fairways South, Hudson North, and Hudson South. The four Call Areas include 222 whole Outer Continental Shelf blocks and 172 partial blocks, comprising approximately 2,047 square nautical miles (nmi) (702,192 hectares).
More information about the NY Bight Call for Information and Nominations and these meetings may be found on BOEM’s website at: https://www.boem.gov/NY-Bight/.