Central Atlantic Offshore Wind Sale Proposal

offshore wind lease sites - Central Atlantic | credit: BOEM

On December 11, 2023, the Department of the Interior (DOI) announced the proposal of an offshore wind lease sale in the Central Atlantic.

The Department has held four recent offshore wind lease auctions, which have brought in almost $5.5 billion in high bids, including a record-breaking sale offshore New York and New Jersey and the first-ever sales offshore the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coasts.

BOEM has also advanced the process to explore additional opportunities for offshore wind energy development in the U.S., including in the Gulf of Maine and offshore Oregon. The agency has taken steps to evolve its approach to offshore wind to drive towards union-built projects and a domestic-based supply chain.

The proposed lease sale includes one area offshore the States of Delaware and Maryland, and one area offshore the Commonwealth of Virginia. Lease Area A-2 consists of 101,443 acres and is approximately 26.4 nautical miles (nm) from Delaware Bay. Lease Area C-1 consists of 176,505 acres and is approximately 35 nm from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.

BOEM is seeking public comments on which, if any, of the two lease areas should be offered in a lease sale next year. These areas have the potential to power over 2.2 million homes with clean energy. BOEM partnered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science to develop a comprehensive, ecosystem-based ocean planning model that assisted in the selection of the final WEAs.

In July 2023, BOEM announced three Central Atlantic Wind Energy Areas (WEAs), while indicating that WEA B-1 still needed more study. The December sale notice does not include WEA B-1, which is located approximately 23.5 nm offshore Ocean City, MD. BOEM has removed that WEA from this proposed lease sale due to the significant costs and mitigation that would be required. However, WEA B-1 may be considered as part of a potential second lease sale in the Central Atlantic, which could occur as soon as 2025.  

The Proposed Sale Notice, which will publish in the Federal Register, initiates a 60-day public comment period and contains information about the areas available for leasing, certain lease provisions and conditions, auction details, criteria for evaluating competing bids and procedures for lease award, appeals and lease execution.

BOEM is seeking feedback on several lease stipulations that would reaffirm its commitment to create good-paying jobs and engage with ocean users and other stakeholders.

Some of these potential stipulations include:

Providing bidding credits to bidders that commit to supporting workforce training programs for the offshore wind industry, developing a domestic supply chain for the offshore wind industry or a combination of both. 

Providing bidding credits to bidders that establish and contribute to a fisheries compensatory mitigation fund or contribute to an existing fund to mitigate potential negative impacts from offshore wind development in the Central Atlantic to commercial and for-hire recreational fisheries. 

In addition, BOEM is preparing a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) to evaluate the potential environmental impacts from lease issuance within the Central Atlantic WEAs. The publication of the draft EA is forthcoming and will be available for review and public comment, according to BOEM.

More information on the Central Atlantic PSN can be found at BOEM’s website at www.boem.gov.

2020 Small Shipyard Grants - Mid Atlantic

In April, 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced $19.6 million in discretionary grants to U.S. small shipyards through the Small Shipyard Grant Program.

MARAD’s Small Shipyard Grant Program provides funding to assist eligible shipyards modernize operations, improve efficiency, and increase productivity by investing in emerging technologies and a highly skilled workforce.

Projects under the program include capital and related improvement projects that foster efficiency, competitive operations, and quality ship construction, repair, and reconfiguration. In addition, the program can fund training projects that foster employee skills and enhance productivity.

The economic footprint of American shipyards is nearly 400,000 jobs, $25.1 billion of labor income, and $37.3 billion in GDP.

Small Shipyard Grant recipients in the Mid Atlantic region include:

MARYLAND

Chesapeake Shipbuilding Corp. of Salisbury, MD, which designs and builds commercial ships up to 450 feet in length, will receive $830,622 to purchase a 130‐ton Rough Terrain Crane.

NEW YORK

Smith Boys Marine Sales Inc. of North Tonowanda, NY, a family-owned boat service and repair company, will receive $317,641 for a transporter and CNC plasma cutter.

OHIO

The Great Lakes Towing Company of Cleveland, OH, a company with 120 years of service on the Great Lakes, will receive $1,400,000 for an 820‐ton Travelift.

PENNSYLVANIA

Philly Shipyard, Inc. of Philadelphia, PA, a U.S. commercial shipyard constructing vessels for operation in the U.S. Jones Act market, will receive $640,158 for a Messer system.

VIRGINIA

Colonna's Shipyard, Inc. Norfolk VA, which performs ship repair, machining and steel fabrication services to both the commercial and government markets, will receive $799,996 to purchase welding machines.

2018 Clean Diesel Grants

In November, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced funding for three clean diesel projects totaling $4.7 million. The grants are part of an effort to reduce air pollution from aging diesel engines in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The funding will go to the Maryland Environmental Service (MES), the Mid-Atlantic Regional Air Management Association (MARAMA), and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (WashCOG).

EPA’s Clean Diesel Program provides support for projects that protect human health and improve air quality by reducing harmful emissions from diesel engines.

This program includes grants and rebates funded under the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA). DERA funding has supported nearly 25,000 cleaner buses across the country for America’s schoolchildren.

Cumulatively, this funding will result in overall lifetime emissions reductions of more than 1,013 tons of ozone-forming oxides of nitrogen (NOx): 58.7 tons of particulate matter (PM); more than 240 tons of carbon monoxide (CO): 724 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2); and, will save more than 91,000 gallons of fuel.

Clean Diesel Grants:

Maryland Environmental Service (MES)

EPA will provide $2.5 million to the port of Baltimore to assist MES in its efforts to reduce diesel emissions and exposure at the port. This project will replace or repower cargo handling equipment and drayage trucks, as well as marine engines on the pleasure vessel, The Spirit of Baltimore, which will improve air quality by reducing harmful emissions by 37 tons of PM, 398 tons of NOx, 165 tons of CO, and 724 tons of CO2, as well as saving 64,450 gallons of fuel.

Mid-Atlantic Regional Air Management Association (MARAMA)

The agency will provide MARAMA with more than $1.3 million to provide incentives to dray truck owners serving the ports and railyards of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, Delaware for voluntary early replacement of 40 drayage trucks with older (1997 – 2006) engines. Replacement trucks will have model year 2013 or newer engines with the latest particulate and NOx reducing technology. This initiative will reduce emissions by 197 tons of NOx, 11.5 tons of PM, 75 tons of CO, as well as air toxics in areas that are not currently attaining federal health-based air quality standards.

Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (WashCOG)

EPA will provide WashCOG with $882,000 to partially fund the re-powering of four diesel propulsion engines and four auxiliary engines on two marine passenger vessels. These vessels are currently operating on the Potomac River in Washington, DC and surrounding communities in Maryland and Virginia. The retrofits will result in reductions of 418 tons of NOx, and 10 tons of PM.

For more information about the DERA program, visit www.epa.gov/cleandiesel.

source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency