Interior charts Atlantic Coast wind farms

Interior charts Atlantic Coast wind farms    The U.S. Interior Department has initiated a program to speed up the siting, leasing and construction of offshore wind farms along the Atlantic Coast.
   'To fully harness the economic and energy benefits of our nation's vast Atlantic wind potential we need to implement a smart permitting process that is efficient, thorough and unburdened by needless red tape,' said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who announced the 'Smart from the Start' wind energy initiative in Baltimore on Tuesday.
   'Our 'Smart from the Start' Initiative for Atlantic wind will allow us to identify priority Wind Energy Areas for potential development, improve our coordination with local, state, and federal partners, and accelerate the leasing process,' Salazar said. 'If we are wise with our planning, we can help build a robust and environmentally responsible offshore renewable energy program that creates jobs here at home.'
   The accelerated leasing process could result in the designation of leases by 2011 and early 2012.
   'This accelerated and focused approach to developing the nation's Atlantic wind resources will encourage investment while ensuring projects are built in the right way and in the right places,' said Michael R. Bromwich, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), in a statement.
   The agency wants to avoid developers proposing wind farms in high vessel traffic areas along the coast, and some of the significant permitting obstacles experienced by the developers of a recently approved offshore wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod, Mass.
   BOEMRE has proposed revising its regulations to simplify the leasing process for offshore wind in situations where there is only one qualified and interested developer. The revision eliminates a redundant and therefore unnecessary step, and would potentially save six to 12 months in the leasing process.
   'We believe the regulatory change we are proposing, along with our efforts to identify priority Wind Energy Areas offshore, will result in a more efficient and coordinated permitting process for offshore wind,' Bromwich said.
   The Interior Department defines Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) as offshore locations that appear most suited for wind energy development. Data would continue to be collected for these high priority areas to inform government and industry assessments and planning, allowing a more efficient process for permitting and siting responsible development.
   The Atlantic wind Smart from the Start initiative is modeled after a similar program for launching large solar energy projects on U.S. public lands in the West.
   Interior Department officials will work with Atlantic state agencies to identify WEAs. The state-federal task forces set up in eight of these states are identifying areas with 'bountiful wind energy and relatively fewer potential environmental and use conflicts than other offshore areas.' Salazar also established the Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy Consortium with 11 coastal state governors earlier this year.
   Under the initiative, BOEMRE will work with state partners to identify WEAs off the coasts of a number of Atlantic states, including Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Virginia, Rhode Island and Massachusetts within the next 60 days.
   By January, the Interior Department will release requests for interest and calls for information for these new WEAs to support lease sale environmental assessments. Maryland's request for information has already been issued and those for New Jersey, Virginia, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts are being developed. Additional WEAs will be identified in 2011 for other Atlantic states, which may include areas offshore New York, Maine, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
   Also in January, BOEMRE will initiate an environmental assessment to evaluate potential impacts related to site assessment activities in identified WEAs. If no significant impacts are identified, BOEMRE would offer leases in these offshore areas by the end of 2011 or early 2012. Developers would still need appropriate and comprehensive site-specific reviews of individual projects. BOEMRE said it would work directly with project proponents to ensure that those reviews take place on aggressive schedules with frequent interagency communications and dedicated staff.
   To address the transmission infrastructure to bring this offshore power ashore, BOEMRE will move forward on a parallel track to process applications to build offshore transmission lines. Identifying wind energy areas should help siting and feasibility reviews associated with potential offshore transmission lines, the Interior Department said.
   This offshore wind initiative is the latest in a series of Obama administration actions to spur renewable energy development on the Outer Continental Shelf. In early 2009, Salazar expedited the long-delayed process for approving the final rules for offshore wind development, establishing a regulatory framework that encourages responsible development. The interior secretary then established the Atlantic Wind Consortium and announced the creation of an offshore wind coordinating office to expedite the Interior Department's collaborative efforts with the states. ' Chris Gillis