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An Update on Wind Farm Development along the US Coastline

by Carl J. Fleming, Elle Hayes and Dominique J. Torsiello | Oct 15, 2021 | Project Development and Finance, Renewables, U.S. Congress

On October 13, 2021, during a speech at American Clean Power’s Offshore WINDPOWER Conference & Exhibition, US Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced a path forward for future offshore wind leasing along the US coastline. This announcement supports the Biden administration’s goal to install 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030 and comes approximately five months after the Biden administration approved the 800 megawatt Vineyard Wind Project.

“The Interior Department is laying out an ambitious roadmap as we advance the Administration’s plans to confront climate change, create good-paying jobs, and accelerate the nation’s transition to a cleaner energy future,” Secretary Haaland said. As part of this roadmap, Secretary Haaland also announced plans for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to potentially offer up to seven new offshore lease sales by 2025 in the Gulf of Maine, New York Bight, Central Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and offshore the Carolinas, California and Oregon.

Secretary Haaland shared that the Interior Department’s “timetable provides two crucial ingredients for success: increased certainty and transparency. Together, we will meet our clean energy goals while addressing the needs of other ocean users and potentially impacted communities. We have big goals to achieve a clean energy economy and [the Department of] Interior is meeting the moment.”

BOEM Director Amanda Lefton advised, “[w]e are working to facilitate a pipeline of projects that will establish confidence for the offshore wind industry…At the same time, we want to reduce potential conflicts as much as we can while meeting the Administration’s goal to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030. This means we will engage early and often with all stakeholders prior to identifying new Wind Energy Areas.”

As we move closer to 2030, industry investors and developers should expect to see a steady increase of offshore wind activity due to the recent announcements and the Investment Tax Credit for projects that will start construction before 2026.

DOI Announces Competitive Lease Sale for Offshore Wind Development off the Coasts of New York and New Jersey

by Carl J. Fleming, Elle Hayes and Dominique J. Torsiello | Jun 16, 2021 | Environmental, Project Development and Finance, Renewables, U.S. Congress

The US Department of the Interior (DOI) announced plans to expand offshore wind development off the coasts of New York and New Jersey by proposing a lease sale it strives to complete by the end of this year. More specifically, the Biden Administration proposed a competitive sale of eight lease sites for over 627,000 acres of federal waters on the Outer Continental Shelf in the New York Bight. This proposed lease sale will support the administration’s goal of installing 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.

The proposed leases contain notable stipulations, including the encouragement of project-labor agreements during construction and the requirement of increased engagement with the fishing industry and other affected ocean users during the leasing process. “The development of renewable energy is an important piece of addressing climate change,” US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said in the DOI’s statement, adding, the “new proposed lease stipulations puts a priority on creating and sustaining good-paying union jobs as we build a clean energy economy.”

The lease sites have the potential to generate an additional seven gigawatts of offshore wind energy, powering more than 2.6 million homes and creating thousands of new jobs. “A lease sale not only opens a door to investment in New York and New Jersey, but will support jobs and businesses throughout the U.S.,” National Ocean Industries Association President Erik Milito said. “Providing new offshore wind opportunities will boost critical investments into the supply chain, ports, and workers, and will provide a foundation for exceptional offshore wind growth.”

Despite the stipulations within the proposed leases, the DOI’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) claimed that 11 offshore wind developers have already expressed interest in the leases. Should the lease sale occur, it would be the first competitive offshore wind lease sale for the administration. A Proposed Sale Notice has been issued in the Federal Register, which opens a 60-day public comment period and provides further information about the potential lease areas, proposed lease provisions and conditions, as well as auction details.

The lease sale announcement builds upon the Biden Administration’s commitment to advance offshore wind development, which includes approval of the Vineyard Wind project—the first large-scale project in federal waters—and the recent announcement to assess potential renewable energy opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico.

Biden Administration Explores Offshore Wind Development in the Gulf of Mexico

by Carl J. Fleming, Christopher Gladbach, Elle Hayes and Dominique J. Torsiello | Jun 9, 2021 | Project Development and Finance, Renewables, U.S. Congress

Earlier this week, the Biden Administration announced its intent to consider further expansion of offshore wind development in the Gulf of Mexico. This announcement comes two weeks after the Biden Administration announced an agreement to lease almost 400 miles off California’s northern and central coasts for wind development. Potential offshore wind leasing in the Gulf of Mexico may play an integral role in the administration’s goal of installing 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030.

To continue its exploration into offshore wind development in the Gulf of Mexico, the US Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will publish a Request for Interest (RFI) in the Federal Register on June 11 to evaluate development interest, potential environmental consequences and other possible uses of the proposed area. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland acknowledged that, “Offshore wind development has the potential to create tens of thousands of good-paying, union jobs across the nation. This is an important first step to see what role the Gulf may play in this exciting frontier.”

The RFI will focus specifically on the Gulf of Mexico’s Western and Central Planning Areas offshore to Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama. Although the emphasis is on wind energy, BOEM is also seeking information on other renewable energy technologies, according to the Interior Department. Publishing the RFI will open a 45-day comment period, after which the agency will review comments and data received to determine the next steps in the renewable energy leasing process in the Gulf.

“The Gulf of Mexico has decades of offshore energy development expertise,” Mike Celata, regional director of BOEM’s Gulf of Mexico office in New Orleans, said. “Working directly with our partners in the Gulf, we will make sure that offshore renewable energy development proceeds in an orderly, safe, and environmentally responsible manner.”

Developing offshore wind projects in the Gulf may prove more difficult than projects on the east coast (or even deepwater projects in California) for a few reasons. First, other than the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), wholesale power markets are generally not developed in the region. Second, the wind resource (with some exceptions) is not as strong as the wind resource on the east coast. Finally, it is unclear whether states will provide the necessary incentive programs (in the form of offshore wind renewable energy certificate (OREC) programs or otherwise) to support development. There are a few mitigating counterfactors however, including the historic presence of major oil developers in the region that are collectively looking to “go green,” vocalized support from leadership—including the Governor of Louisiana—the declining price of offshore wind technology and the recently expanded offshore investment tax credit (ITC).

Currently, BOEM has leased approximately 1.7 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico’s Outer Continental Shelf for offshore wind development and has 17 commercial leases on the Atlantic— from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras. After the comment period concludes on the RFI, information on offshore wind development in the Gulf is expected to [...]

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Seeing Beyond the Wall of Capital

by Christopher Gladbach and Seth B. Doughty | Nov 4, 2020 | Articles, Power Markets, Project Development and Finance, Renewables

In the United States, despite the continued spread of COVID-19 and the uneven approach to reopening, where that is even occurring, deals in the renewable energy sector are happening.

In a recent article for Project Finance International, Chris Gladbach and Seth Doughty discussed the state of the US market for renewable power projects, including how investments (and investment styles) have changed, new technologies and more.

Access the article.

Republished with permission from Refinitiv Project Finance International.

DOE Announces Funding for Hydrokinetic Power Projects

by McDermott Will & Emery | Sep 5, 2013 | Project Development and Finance, Renewables

by Bethany Hatef

The Department of Energy (DOE) announced last week that it will commit $16 million toward 17 projects to capture energy from waves, tides and currents. In a press release, DOE stated that the commitment is “part of the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above strategy to deploy every available source of American energy.” Although DOE’s committed funds are relatively modest, they may spur the growth of a largely untapped but potentially significant clean source of domestic power.

Wave and tidal, or hydrokinetic, energy, a renewable fuel source, may be captured where large volumes of water are moved (e.g., changing tides and currents). According to DOE, development of this resource may supply clean and reliable power to millions of homes, including in many coastal U.S. cities with high power demands. DOE’s latest assessments found that wave and tidal energy could potentially generate up to 1,400 terawatt hours (or 1.4 billion megawatt hours) annually. (One terawatt hour would be sufficient to power 85,000 homes.)

A hint of government support for hydrokinetic energy production first arose in 2009, when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) entered into a memorandum of understanding addressing their respective jurisdiction over hydrokinetic projects on the Outer Continental Shelf. In January 2012, FERC issued its first pilot project license for a hydrokinetic project, which will generate power from the tidal flow of the East River in New York. In August of this year, BOEM issued a Finding of No Significant Impact with respect to a proposed hydrokinetic power project off the Florida coast, giving the go-ahead for the first such BOEM-leased project.

DOE’s commitment consists of $13.5 million for eight projects to assist American companies with building wave and tidal devices to reduce production costs and maximize the harnessed energy. These projects “will develop new drivetrain, generator and structural components as well as develop software that predicts ocean conditions and adjusts device settings accordingly to optimize power production,” according to DOE’s press release. Additionally, DOE will provide $2.4 million to nine projects “that will gather and analyze environmental data from wave and tidal projects as well as potential development zones” to proactively handle environmental impacts and promote efficient development.