July 18, 2012 — Commercial wind leases could be issued as soon as December to developers interested in constructing turbines in the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf area off Rhode Island and Massachusetts, Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Tommy Beaudreau said Tuesday night at a meeting about the proposed project.
Despite the fast-approaching lease date, Beaudreau said actual turbine construction at the 250-square-nautical-mile area is years away because any developer granted a lease would be required to spend up to five years researching the environmental impact of any planned turbines.
"The leases only would give them the right to do a study," Beaudreau said. "It would allow them to give us a plan saying here's how many turbines we want, here's what they would look like, and here is the environmental impact they would have."
"The idea is that we give them certain rights as an incentive for more analysis," he added.
The developer's environmental impact study would have to be reviewed and approved by BOEM before being carried out.
"Once we receive their report, we are in a position of strength because we will have a proposal that we can tear apart and look at from every angle, in every which way, to make sure it is beneficial," Beaudreau said.
In July, BOEM released its own environmental assessment of the Outer Continental Shelf area that would be eligible for lease.
Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard Times.