Wind energy projects along the coasts are facing uncertainty due to President Trump’s Presidential Memorandum issued on January 20, “Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing...more
The Trump-Vance administration issued an executive order temporarily halting offshore wind leasing and calling for a review of the federal governmental leasing and permitting practices for all wind projects....more
The memorandum directs a full review of wind leasing and permitting practices, and, effective January 21, 2025, pauses all “consideration of any area in the OCS for any new or renewed wind energy leasing” as well as...more
On December 5, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit handed the U.S. offshore wind industry a decisive win in its eagerly awaited ruling on the remaining challenges to the Vineyard Wind 1 project’s federal...more
California has tremendous offshore wind resources and ambitious offshore power goals, but the uncertain rules and regimes for development have delayed implementation of projects. The California Energy Commission (CEC)...more
A new proposal aims to streamline the process for permitting and developing offshore renewable energy projects and reduce costs to developers. On January 30, 2023, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a...more
The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a proposed rule to update regulations for the development of offshore wind energy resources, found at 30 C.F.R. Part 585.1 The...more
California’s first upcoming offshore wind lease sale, scheduled for December 6, 2022, is the next major step forward for clean energy in the Golden State. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the State of...more
The Inflation Reduction Act spending bill, reflecting compromise between Senator Joe Manchin and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, contains several measures to bolster offshore wind and other renewable energy development in the...more
In a ruling having major implications for the offshore wind industry, the Federal District Court of Massachusetts held in May 2022 that patent law applies to wind turbines attached to the seabed within 200 nautical miles of...more
The proposal would auction off almost 375,000 acres of the Outer Continental Shelf offshore California for wind energy development. Key Points: ..The two areas proposed for leasing have the potential to provide more...more
2021 witnessed a new but familiar competition among stakeholders for the use and enjoyment of the Outer Continental Shelf. Last year, interested parties initiated five lawsuits against the first federally approved offshore...more
The California coast offers significant potential for offshore wind development that can help the state reach its renewable energy goals. Developers of wind energy projects located off the California coast will face a number...more
Last week, the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (BOEM) held its second of two intergovernmental stakeholder meetings to discuss offshore wind in the Gulf of Mexico. The February 2, 2022, meeting follows BOEM’s receipt...more
In the first week of his presidency, President Biden, by Executive Order, set a goal of doubling offshore wind by 2030—an ambitious goal to help put the United States on a path to meet its commitments under the Paris Climate...more
The California Legislature on Sept. 9, 2021, approved landmark state legislation to facilitate California's offshore wind energy potential. Assembly Bill (AB) 525 requires the California Energy Commission (CEC) to prepare a...more
On June 11, 2021, the US Department of the Interior’s (DOI’s) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued a proposed sale notice to sell commercial wind energy leases on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the New York...more
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) earlier this year for the first time expressly found that the Jones Act applies to transportation of merchandise from a U.S. port to a location on the U.S. outer continental shelf...more
Stakeholders in offshore wind construction projects, including vessel owners and operators, project developers, and equipment manufacturers, should ensure that their plans for offshore wind development comply with the Jones...more
The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), operating under 2005 amendments to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), which authorized BOEM to issue leases for energy projects other than...more
The U.S. Department of the Interior has just announced the next step in the years-long process toward the development of wind energy facilities off the coast of North Carolina. In a notice published in the Federal Register...more
The possibility of wind energy development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) off North Carolina’s shores moved one step closer to fruition last week, as the Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management...more