The Martha's Vineyard Times

Offshore wind energy update from federal officials Wednesday

September 19, 2011

File photo by BOEMRE

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) will host an informational meeting about offshore wind energy development on Wednesday, September 21, 5 to 7 pm, at the Katharine Cornell Theatre in Vineyard Haven.

The meeting's purpose is to provide an update on the status and next steps for the recently released Call for Information and Nominations (Call) and Notice of Intent (NOI) for an Area of Mutual Interest (AMI) in federal waters south of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, according to a press release.

The two states identified the AMI area for joint consideration of wind energy leasing and development. The Call and NOI cover an area that is a subsection of the AMI.

BOEMRE issued the Call and NOI to support the planning, analysis, and decision-making process for offshore wind development in the AMI on August 18. A 45-day comment period ends on October 3, 2011.

Another subsection of the AMI, about 12 nautical miles south of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, is undergoing a separate but coordinated planning process. Vineyard Power, a community-owned, Island-based energy cooperative, submitted a lease application for some blocks in that area to BOEMRE in April in partnership with OffshoreMW, an offshore wind developer owned by the Blackstone Group.