Gulf of Mexico Activities

The Bureau Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has announced the publication of a final environmental assessment (EA) that considered the impacts of potential offshore wind leasing in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The area that was reviewed in the EA included 30 million acres just west of the Mississippi River to the Texas/Mexican border. BOEM issued a Proposed Sale Notice in the Federal Register February 24, 2023. Wind Energy Areas have been identified based on stakeholder and ocean user input. They are located offshore Texas and Louisiana in areas that appear most suitable for wind energy development. The next step in the process is to issue a Final Sale Notice, sometime later this year.

BOEM held its fourth Gulf of Mexico Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force meeting on April 11, 2023. Established in 2021, the Task Force is a partnership between federal, state, and local agencies and Tribal governments tasked with coordinating renewable energy planning activities on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the Gulf of Mexico. It serves as a forum to discuss stakeholder issues, exchange data and information about ocean use and resources, and facilitate collaboration opportunities.

On February 22, 2023, the Department of the Interior announced a proposed offshore wind lease sale for three proposed lease areas in the Gulf of Mexico off the coasts of Galveston, TX, and Lake Charles, LA. 

BOEM published a Proposed Sale Notice (PSN) in the Federal Register on February 24, 2023, which initiated a 60-day public comment period ending at 11:59 pm ET on April 25, 2023. To comment on the PSN, go to www.regulations.gov and search for docket number BOEM-2023-0021.

During the comment period, BOEM held an auction seminar on March 23, 2023, for prospective bidders, which was open to the public. The seminar described the auction format, explained the auction rules and demonstrated the auction process through meaningful examples.

The PSN published in the Federal Register on February 24, 2023, opening a 60-day public comment period ending at 11:59 pm ET on April 25, 2023. To comment on the proposed revisions, go to www.regulations.gov and search for docket number BOEM-2023-0021.


Public Engagement

Announcements

GOM Final WEAs I and M Blocks map
Final GOM WEAs NAD83 Pts Area I
Final GOM WEAs NAD83 Pts Area M
GOM Final WEAs I & M Blocks
WEA I & M Shape Files with Metadata

On October 31, 2022, BOEM announced it has finalized two Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) in the Gulf of Mexico. The first final WEA is located approximately 24 nautical miles (nm) off the coast of Galveston, TX. The area totals 508,265 acres and has the potential to power 2.1 million homes with clean wind energy. The second final WEA is located approximately 56 nm off the coast of Lake Charles, LA. The area totals 174,275 acres and has the potential to power over 740,000 homes. The next steps in BOEM’s renewable energy competitive leasing process include issuing a Proposed Sale Notice for a 60-day public comment period later this year or early next. 

Request for Interest (RFI)

BOEM published a Request for Interest (RFI) in the Federal Register on June 11, 2021, to assess interest in potential offshore wind development in the OCS. The RFI focused on the Western and Central Planning Areas of the Gulf of Mexico offshore the states of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama.  
 
During the comment period, BOEM convened its first Renewable Energy Task Force Meetings on June 15, 2021 to discuss the RFI,  coordinate planning, solicit feedback and exchange scientific and process information. 
 
The RFI comment period closed on July 26, 2021, and 39 comments were received in response. BOEM determined that competitive interest exists for an area identified by the RFI. As such, BOEM published a Call for Information and Nominations (Call) to further assess commercial interest in, and invite public comment on, possible commercial wind energy leasing in a proposed area within the RFI area.

Call for Information and Nominations (Call)

On November 1, 2021, BOEM published a Call for Information and Nominations (Call) in the Federal Register. The Call Area consisted of almost 30 million acres just west of the Mississippi River to the Texas/Mexican border.  

Before deciding whether and where leases were issued, BOEM considered the comments received on the Call, conducted an environmental review as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, and consulted with appropriate Tribes, federal and state agencies to consider the environmental consequences associated with issuing commercial wind energy leases within the Call Area. After completion of its environmental review, BOEM considered the existing uses of the Call Area, as well as feedback from the GOM Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force and the public. BOEM decided to publish a PSN describing the areas available for potential leasing and the proposed terms and conditions of the leases. There were multiple opportunities for public input throughout this process.

Environmental Review

BOEM announced on Jan. 11, 2022 that it prepared a draft environmental assessment (EA) considering potential offshore wind leasing in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico.  The draft EA considered potential environmental consequences of site characterization activities (i.e., biological, archaeological and geological, as well as geophysical surveys and core samples) and site assessment activities (i.e., installation of meteorological buoys) associated with the possibility of issuing wind energy leases in the Western and Central Gulf of Mexico. More information was found on this page: https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/gulf-mexico-draft-ea

Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Summit

BOEM hosted four, sector-specific Gulf of Mexico Fisheries workshops January 19-20, 2022. Stakeholders shared information and discussed issues as BOEM prepares for development of potential wind energy areas and environmental reviews for offshore wind projects in the Gulf of Mexico. More information on the meetings was found at: https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/gulf-mexico-fisheries-summit.

Wind Energy Identification

On July 20, 2022 the Department of the Interior announced it was seeking public comments on two draft Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) in the Gulf of Mexico. The first draft WEA was located approximately 24 nautical miles (nm) off the coast of Galveston, TX, covering a total of 546,645 acres, with the potential to power 2.3 million homes with clean wind energy. The second draft WEA was located approximately 56 nm off the coast of Lake Charles, LA, covering a total of 188,023 acres, with the potential to power 799,000 homes. Public comments on the draft WEAs were accepted for 30 days beginning July 20, 2022. Information for providing comments was found on this page: https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/gulf-mexico-wea.