Category — DOI News

On Wednesday, June 5, 2013, the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) issued the Final Sale Notice for the sale of commercial wind energy leases on the Outer Continental Shelf.  The auction is scheduled to take place on July 31, 2013 and will offer 164,750 acres for commercial wind energy leasing off the coast of Rhode Island and Massachusetts.  BOEM will simultaneously auction the area as two separate leases. [Read more →]

On April 10, 2013, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Sarah “Sally” Jewell to be Secretary of the Interior.  On February 7, 2013, President Obama nominated Ms. Jewell to replace outgoing Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.  Ms. Jewell had a confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on March 7, 2013. [Read more →]

On November 30, 2012, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes, and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Tommy P. Beaudreau announced the first ever competitive lease sales for renewable energy development for offshore wind projects in federal waters.  Described as part of the Obama Administration’s strategy to continue to expand domestic energy production, the proposed energy lease sales are for two separate Outer Continental Shelf offshore locations, described as “Wind Energy Areas.”  [Read more →]

On October 23, 2012, the Department of Interior (“DOI”) announced that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) will lease 96,430 acres of federal waters off the coast of Delaware to NRG Bluewater Wind Delaware LLC (“NRG”).   The lease is the first under DOI’s “Smart from the Start” initiative, which aims to streamline the process for developing wind in the Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”) by identifying areas for wind development through a “coordinated environmental analysis, public review and large-scale planning.” [Read more →]

On October 9, 2012, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) approved the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project as “suitable for wind energy development.”  The project could generate up to 3,000 megawatts (“MW”) of power in southeastern Wyoming, and helps DOI reach President Barack Obama’s goal of authorizing 10,000 MW of renewable power on public lands by the end of 2012. [Read more →]

On November 28, 2011, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk announced the beginning of a major reform of federal surface leasing regulations for American Indian Lands.  The Department of the Interior, as trustee responsible for managing approximately 56 million surface acres in Indian Country, currently processes requests for land leases and subleases without a defined process or deadline for review.  Attempts to engage in lease or mortgage transactions can languish for years. [Read more →]

On April 19, 2011, Ken Salazar, the Secretary for the U.S. Department of Interior (“Interior”) announced that the Cape Wind Energy Project’s Construction and Operation Plan (“COP”) received approval from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (“BOEMRE”).  [Read more →]

On February 7, 2011, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) and Department of the Interior (“Interior”) announced a joint strategic plan entitled the National Offshore Wind Strategy: Creating an Offshore Wind Industry in the United States in order to accelerate the deployment of offshore wind and decrease cost. [Read more →]

On October 6, 2010, Secretary Salazar and Cape Wind Associates, LLC signed the first lease for commercial wind energy development on the Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”), the Cape Wind Project.  The Cape Wind Project has 130 planned wind turbines which could then create up to 468 megawatts, with an average output of 182 megawatts.  The Cape Wind Project could power over 200,000 homes in Massachusetts, roughly 75 percent of electricity demand in Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket Island.  The lease for the Cape Wind Project is for 28 years and will cost Cape Wind Associates a 2 to 7 percent operating fee while in production which equals $88,278 a year. [Read more →]

On January 29, 2010, the U.S. Department of Interior (“DOI”) and Department of Energy (“DOE”) announced that the agencies have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) to collaborate in developing commercial-scale offshore renewable energy projects on the Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”).  [Read more →]