The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold the Hawaii intergovernmental renewable energy task force meeting in Honolulu on 16 May to discuss current and future plans for leasing areas in waters off Oahu for offshore wind development.
Specifically, BOEM will present the details of BOEM’s next step in the planning and leasing process, a call for information and nominations.
The call is a notice BOEM will publish later this summer in the Federal Register that initiates a 45-day comment period to solicit further industry interest in identified areas offshore Oahu, Hawaii.
BOEM will also present the areas it is considering for commercial leasing offshore Oahu. This presentation will include an explanation on how such areas were delineated. In addition to identifying industry nominations, the call will also seek public input on the areas identified for potential development, including comments on site conditions, resources, and existing uses.
The meeting will be held at Homer A. Maxey International Trade Resource Center from 9:00 a.m. local time to 2:00 p.m. Two public question and answer sessions will be held; one session will begin at 11:30 a.m. and a second session will begin at 2:15 p.m.
A copy of the meeting agenda can be viewed here.
BOEM has so far received a total of three unsolicited lease requests for floating wind energy projects off Oahu.
Two lease requests were submitted by AW Hawaii Wind, LLC, for the 400MW AWH Oahu Northwest Project and the 400MW AWH Oahu South Project. The lease request by Progression Hawaii Offshore Wind, Inc., part of Oregon-based Progression Energy, for the 400MW Progression South Coast of Oahu Project was accepted in March 2016.
BOEM established the Hawaii task force to promote planning and coordination, and to facilitate effective and efficient review of requests for commercial and research leases and right-of-way grants for power cables on the Federal outer continental shelf which begins 3 nautical miles offshore Hawaii.