New BOEM Director hits ground running with offshore wind announcement

[Image: GE]

The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management has a new Director: Amanada Lefton. She most recently served as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s First Assistant Secretary for Energy and Environment leading the state’s climate and environmental initiatives.

On her first day on the BOEM job Lefton had a significant offshore wind development to announce. BOEM is to resume the environmental review of Vineyard Wind’s proposed offshore wind project.

“Offshore wind has the potential to help our nation combat climate change, improve resilience through reliable power, and spur economic development to create good-paying jobs,” said Lefton. “BOEM is committed to conducting a robust and timely review of the proposed project.”

BOEM will resume the environmental review of the Vineyard Wind Project and proceed with development of a Final Environmental Impact Statement.

In December, Vineyard Wind had paused Department’s consideration of its proposal while it reviewed whether the use of GE’s giant Haliade-X turbines warranted any modifications to its Construction and Operation Plan (COP). On January 22, 2021, Vineyard Wind submitted a letter rescinding its temporary COP withdrawal and requesting that BOEM resume review of the 800-megawatt wind energy project offshore Massachusetts.

“We’re very pleased that BOEM has decided to move forward with the permitting process for our Vineyard Wind 1 project,” said a Vineyard Wind spokesperson yesterday. “We look forward to working with the agency as we launch an industry that will create thousands of good paying jobs while also taking meaningful steps to reduce the impact of climate change.”