WASHINGTON — The Biden-Harris administration immediately introduced its approval of the Empire Wind offshore wind venture — the sixth approval of a commercial-scale offshore wind power venture below President Biden’s management. Right this moment’s announcement helps the Administration’s purpose of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power capability by 2030.
Empire Wind US LLC proposes to develop two offshore wind services, generally known as Empire Wind 1 and Empire Wind 2. The lease space is situated about 12 nautical miles (nm) south of Lengthy Island, N.Y., and about 16.9 nm east of Lengthy Department, N.J. Collectively these tasks would have as much as 147 wind generators with a complete capability of two,076 megawatts of unpolluted, renewable power that the Bureau of Ocean Power Administration (BOEM) estimates may energy greater than 700,000 houses every year. The tasks would help over 830 jobs every year in the course of the building part and about 300 jobs yearly in the course of the operations part.
“Underneath President Biden’s management, the American offshore wind trade is constant to increase quickly — creating good-paying union jobs throughout the manufacturing, shipbuilding and building sectors,” mentioned Secretary Deb Haaland. “Right this moment’s approval of the sixth offshore wind venture provides to the numerous progress in direction of our Administration’s clear power objectives. Along with the labor neighborhood, trade, Tribes, and companions from coast to coast, we’ll proceed to increase clear power growth in a way that can profit communities, strengthen our nation’s power safety, and tackle local weather change.”
“BOEM and our companions have already achieved a lot in pursuit of the Administration’s purpose of reaching 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power capability by 2030,” mentioned BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein. “In depth engagement with Tribes, different authorities companions, ocean customers, involved residents, and extra has helped us to keep away from or scale back consumer conflicts whereas facilitating the accountable growth of offshore wind tasks. We stay up for persevering with our work with them as we transfer this trade ahead.”
Bidenomics and the President’s Investing in America agenda are rising the American economic system from the center out and backside up – from rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, to driving over half a trillion {dollars} in new personal sector manufacturing and clear power investments in the US, to creating good-paying jobs and constructing a clear power economic system that can fight the local weather disaster and make our communities extra resilient.
For the reason that begin of the Biden-Harris administration, the Division of the Inside has accredited the nation’s first six commercial-scale offshore wind power tasks. BOEM has held 4 offshore wind lease auctions, which have introduced in nearly $5.5 billion in excessive bids, together with a record-breaking sale offshore New York and New Jersey and the first-ever gross sales offshore the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coasts. BOEM has additionally superior the method to discover further alternatives for offshore wind power growth within the U.S., together with within the Gulf of Maine and offshore Oregon and the U.S. Central Atlantic coast. The Division has additionally taken steps to evolve its strategy to offshore wind to drive in direction of union-built tasks and a domestic-based provide chain.
Invaluable suggestions was gathered via nation-to-nation consultations with Tribes, enter from federal, state and native companies, and from public conferences and feedback in analyzing the venture’s potential environmental impacts and growing attainable alternate options and mitigation measures.
The Report of Determination consists of measures geared toward avoiding, minimizing, and mitigating the potential impacts that will consequence from the development and operation of the venture. Amongst these measures, Empire Wind, LLC has dedicated to establishing fishery mitigation funds to compensate business and for-hire leisure fishers for any losses immediately arising from the venture.
The Report of Determination can be revealed within the Federal Register within the coming days and may be discovered on the BOEM web site.
Article courtesy of Division of Inside & BOEM.
