Federal authorities have moved further to reverse course on the Biden administration’s embrace of offshore wind power infrastructure in recent days, earning praise from regional fishermen.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has taken two key actions in the past week in pursuit of bringing an end to offshore wind development throughout the country, including in the Gulf of Maine.
At the end of July, BOEM said that it would be rescinding all designated Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), a move in alignment with an Executive Order issued by the President on his first day in office.
WEAs are areas that have been deemed suitable by the federal government for “commercial wind energy activities” that “present[ed] the fewest apparent environmental and user conflicts.”
This move aims to officially end the federal practice of “designating large areas of the OCS for speculative wind development.” As a result of this, 3.5 million acres of unleased federal waters will be released across many parts of the country, including in the Gulf of Maine.
On Monday, the agency followed up on this, announcing that it would also be rolling back a section of regulations that outlined the renewable energy lease sale schedule.
By rescinding the renewable energy leasing schedule, the federal government has released the Secretary of the Interior from his obligation to “publish a five-year schedule of anticipated offshore renewable energy lease sales at least every two years.”
According to a press released shared by BOEM Monday, the Interior Department has found that this policy is not mandated under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and “unnecessarily limits the Secretary’s discretion over scheduling renewable lease sales.”
The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act was first passed by Congress in 1953 and empowers the Interior Secretary to grant leases to this land for various purposes to the “highest qualified responsible bidder.”
The Act was later amended to provide guidelines for “implementing an OCS oil and gas exploration and development program.”
The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) issued a statement Monday applauding the Trump Administration’s decision to eliminate renewable energy leasing schedules.
“The BOEM’s removal of the offshore renewable energy leasing schedule puts American fishermen and ecosystems first by safeguarding coastal environments from unreliable energy source development,” NEFSA COO Dustin Delano said.
“By removing the arbitrary and mandatory five-year leasing timeline, the Department of the Interior can now take the time needed to evaluate ocean conditions and assess the impacts offshore wind poses on marine life,” Delano added.
Among President Donald Trump’s (R) Inauguration Day Executive Orders was one temporarily halting the practice of offshore wind development until further notice, a move that appears to have been solidified by BOEM’s move earlier this week.
In that initial Executive Order, the President took into consideration several relevant factors when issuing the decision, including “the need to foster an energy economy capable of meeting the country’s growing demand for reliable energy, the importance of marine life, impacts on ocean currents and wind patterns, effects on energy costs for Americans.”
Reporting shared by Maine Morning Star suggests that future administrations may reverse this policy and re-designate these areas for offshore wind development, opening the door once again to these endeavors.
Earlier last month, Maine indefinitely delayed plans to issue its first solicitation for energy generated by offshore wind turbines.
According to an email quoted by Maine Public, this extension was said to be due to “recent changes in the energy landscape that have caused significant uncertainty in the offshore wind industry, including shifts in federal energy policy and market conditions.”
