A rendering depicts the massive size of the offshore wind turbines for the proposed Ocean Wind 1 project. (Rendering courtesy of Cape May County)
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold a virtual meeting 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13 to solicit public comments on a draft environmental report for the development of six wind lease areas off New York and New Jersey, know as New York Bight. The area encompasses 488,000 acres with the potential to create up to 7 gigawatts of offshore wind energy – enough to power 2 million homes.
“BOEM welcomes input from diverse stakeholders as we work to meet President Biden’s clean energy goals that are vitally important to the well-being of the American people,” BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein said in a release.
BOEM held an auction in February 2022 for the rights to lease areas in the NY Bight that generated $4.3 billion in revenue, including from Atlantic Shores Ocean Wind.
The virtual meeting is part of a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement to analyze “programmatic avoidance, minimization, mitigation, and monitoring measures” that BOEM may use as conditions of approval for offshore wind projects in the NY Bight.
According to the release, the process will help “ensure timely decisions that advance offshore wind energy development while safeguarding the ocean environment and marine life and reducing conflicts with other ocean users.”
The 45-day public comment period on the environmental impact statement ends Feb. 26. Public meetings were held on Feb. 5, 7 in Massachusetts and New York and another in-person public meeting will be held 4 p.m. Feb. 8 in Toms River, New Jersey to seek additional information on potential impacts to the environment.
During Tuesday’s virtual meeting, BOEM will provide an overview presentation and the public may make oral public statements for the record.
To read the environmental impact statement and to register to attend the virtual meeting, see https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/new-york-bight.
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