Delaware Activities
Delaware Lease Area
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What’s New?
On December 2, 2016, BOEM received an application to assign 100% of commercial lease OCS-A 0482 to GSOE I, LLC. BOEM is now processing that request and expects to make a decision by the end 2016.
Overview
Secretary Salazar announced on October 23, 2012 that BOEM reached agreement on a commercial wind energy lease with Bluewater Wind Delaware, LLC for an area of the OCS offshore Delaware. The lease (OCS-A 0482) was executed on November 16, 2012. Additional information about this lease, including the preceding public notices, Task Force coordination, and environmental documentation that informed this lease is provided below.
Request for Interest
The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act requires BOEM to award renewable energy leases competitively, unless BOEM determines there is no competitive interest. Therefore, on April 26, 2010, BOEM published a "Request for Interest" (RFI) in the Federal Register (under Docket ID: MMS-2010-OMM-0017) to assist BOEM in determining whether competitive interest existed in an area offshore Delaware. The public comment period ended on June 25, 2010.
Materials related to the RFI are below.
Notice of Proposed Lease Area and Request for Competitive Interest
In response to the RFI, BOEM received two commercial nominations. Of these nominations, BOEM determined Bluewater Wind Delaware LLC (BWW) was qualified to hold an OCS commercial lease. On January 26, 2011, BOEM published a “Notice of Proposed Lease Area and Request for Competitive Interest” (RFCI) (under Docket ID: BOEMRE-2010-0075) to provide notice of BWW’s proposed lease area and invite public comment. Materials related to the RFCI are below.
Determination of No Competitive Interest
On April 12, 2011, BOEM published a Notice of Determination of No Competitive Interest (DNCI) in the Federal Register (under Docket ID: BOEM-2011-0008), thereby announcing BOEM’s decision to proceed with a noncompetitive lease process for the proposed lease area offshore Delaware.
Commercial Lease
On October 23, 2012, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that BOEM reached an agreement on a commercial wind energy lease with BWW. The lease (OCS-A 0482) was executed on November 16, 2012. This announcement, the executed lease, and a map of the lease area are below.
Environmental Review
On February 3, 2012, BOEM also published in the Federal Register a Notice of Availability of an Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for commercial wind lease issuance and site assessment activities on the Atlantic OCS offshore New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Consultations ran concurrently with preparation of the EA and included consultations under the Endangered Species Act, Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Coastal Zone Management Act.
Environmental Studies
BOEM has funded or considered numerous studies to collect information about the marine environment to support decisions concerning offshore renewable energy development. For more information, please visit: http://www.boem.gov/DE-Environmental-Studies.
Task Force Meetings
BOEM coordinates OCS renewable energy activities offshore Delaware with its federal, state, local, and tribal government partners through its Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force. To obtain information discussed during these meetings click on the links below.
Related Press Releases