Permitting Offshore
Wind Projects
Bonnie Ram
Energetics Incorporated
Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Regional Wind Summit
Raleigh, NC
September 20, 2005
Research sponsored by the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory
Energetics Role
• Assist NREL in supporting the Department of
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Energy Office of Wind
Track environmental policies and laws in the U.S.
and Europe
Review existing marine research
Assist in organizing technical workshops
Collaborate with U.S. Army Corp of Engineers &
Minerals Management Service
Track local permit applications & projects
Results to Date
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Literature review
Review of environmental regulations & permits
Summary of European environmental studies
Technical Workshops
• Stakeholder Dialogue Meeting (2003)
• Boston Technical Tutorial Meeting (September
2003)
• Deep Water Technologies Workshop
(2003/2004)
• MMS Wind Tutorial (August 2005)
Factors Determining Applicable
Regulations
• Project Size,
Location and
Construction
• State/Federal
Ocean
Boundaries
• Landfall Grid Connection
• Sensitive Marine/Land Areas
• Avian and Marine Species
• Activities and Uses of Project Area
Ocean Jurisdictions
Exclusive
Economic Zone
200 nm
Shoreline
Federal
State
Boundary Boundary
3nm
12nm
12nm
24nm
Territorial Contiguous
Sea
Zone
Note: TX & Gulf coast of FL state boundaries are 9 nm
Not to Scale
International boundaries
Primary Jurisdictions in the Ocean
• U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACOE)
Department of Defense
– Navigational obstructions in federal waters (Section 10)
– No longer the lead agency for offshore wind permits
– Approvals for transmission lines
• Minerals Management Service
Department of Interior
– Oil and gas leasing
– Sand and gravel program
– Energy Policy Act of 2005 gave MMS lead agency status for
permitting of non-extractive energy facilities on the OCS
• 270 days to develop new regulations
• Interim guidance for new projects
Selected Federal Regulations
Legislative
Authority
Energy Policy Act
of 2005 amended
Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act
Major Program/Permit
Lead Agencies
Designated MMS as lead authority for
alternative uses of the OCS.
Jurisdiction over leasing rights for
minerals production.
Minerals Management
Service of the
Department of the
Interior
Federal Power Act
Issues license for any type of electric power
generation within/or on navigable waters;
interconnection is parallel process
FERC
Rivers And Harbors
Act - Section 10
Regulates all structures and work in
navigable water of the U.S Extended out to
200 nm under the OCSLA for fixed
structures/artificial islands
U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (District Office)
National
Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA)
Requires submission of an environmental
review for all major federal actions that may
significantly affect the quality of the human
environment
U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (District)
Coastal Zone
Management Act
Jurisdictional rights to states to review
activities that may affect the state’s coastal
resources
Navigation and
Navigable Waters
Navigation aid permit
(requirements for markings and lighting)
Council on Environmental
Quality
State Coastal Zone
Management Agencies
U.S. Coast Guard
Selected Federal Regulations
Legislative
Authority
Major Program/Permit
Lead Agencies
Navigational Hazard
to Air Traffic
Determination of the safe use of airspace
from construction start (requirements for
lighting)
U.S Federal Aviation Administration
(Regional Administrator)
Migratory Bird
Treaty Act
No “taking” or harming of birds
determination
Fish and Wildlife Service
Migratory Bird Conservation
Commission
National Historic
Preservation Act
Consultation on the protection of historic
resources — places, properties,
shipwrecks
Department of the Interior
State Historic Preservation Offices
Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery
Conservation &
Management Act
National Marine
Sanctuary Act (Title
III)
Conserves & manages fish stocks to a
200-mile fishery conservation zone &
designates essential fish habitat
National Marine Fisheries Service
(Commerce)
Designates marine protected areas
National Ocean Service (within
NOAA)
Endangered
Species Act
Consultation on action that may
jeopardize threatened & endangered
(listed) species or adversely modify
critical habitat.
Fish & Wildlife Service (Interior)
National Marine Fisheries Service
Selected Federal Regulations
Legislative
Authority
Major Program/Permit
Lead Agency
Clean Water Act
Regulates discharges of pollutants into
the waters of the United States
U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency
Marine Mammal
Protection Act
Prohibits or strictly limits the direct of
indirect taking or harassment
(Permits may be sought for “incidental
take”)
Fish & Wildlife
National Marine Fisheries
Service
Submerged
Lands Act
Granting states a title for public
lands/natural resources held in trust by
the government
Minerals Management
Service
Estuary
Protection Act
Conserves estuarine areas
Fish and Wildlife Service
Significant Role for State and
Local Authorities
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Selected State Permits & Approvals
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Environmental Quality Review Boards (NEPA analysis)
Coastal Zone Management Programs
Siting Boards for Energy Facilities and Transmission Lines
State Parks, Forests, and Cultural & Historic Resources
Tidal Wetlands, Coastal Erosion Hazard, Water Quality
Assessing Environmental and Health Benefits
– Renewable Portfolio Standards requirements
– Clean Air Act
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Local Land Use Entities
– Town Planning Boards
– Zoning Boards
– By-laws (e.g., setbacks)
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Section 10 Permit Process
15-30 Day
Public
Notice
Complete
For
Processing
Comments
By Agencies,
Interested
Groups,
Public
Application
Submitted
Final
Decisions by
District
Issued
May be
Appealed to
Division
Denied
Full Public Interest Review
Environmental Regulatory
Review and Project Evaluation
Reference: Adapted from USACE presentation, Christine Godfrey
May
Need
Public
Hearing
U.S. Army Corp of Engineers
Permit and NEPA Process
Reference: Adapted from USACE presentation, Karen Adams
Community Involvement
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Primary Objective of the Permit Process is
Public Involvement
– Assessing public interest
– Educating broad group of stakeholders
– Uncertainty of potential impacts on the
human & physical environment
 Viewshed
 Environmental tradeoffs
– Economic benefits
Permitting Unknowns
• Transition from USACOE to
MMS
– NEPA documents
– Risk assessment
– Standards and codes
• Interim Guidelines for New
Projects
• Designating Planning “Zones”
• Public Involvement
• Leases, Fees and Royalties
Status of USACOE Offshore Wind Applications
Applicant
Project Location
Application
Filed
Status
Cape Wind
Nantucket Sound
November
2001
Draft EIS issued November
2004
Bald Eagle
Power
Long Island Sound
May 2002
Application on hold
Greenlight
Lake Erie
May 2003
Project on hold
Winergy
Plum Island, NY
June 2003
Incomplete Application
Winergy
Smith Island, VA
July 2003
Application administratively
withdrawn
Winergy
4 sites in New
Jersey
NA
Pre-application meeting
Nov 2002
Winergy
Indian River,
Delaware
NA
Pre-application meeting
Feb 2003
LIPA & Florida
Power and
Light
Long Island Sound
July 2005
Utility awarded the
competitive project; joint
application filed
Offshore Wind Project
Anatomy
Site and
Feasibility
Assessment
1-year
Preconstruction
and Permitting
1-3 years??
Construction –
Installation –
Commissioning
1+ years
Operation
and
Maintenance
20-years
Decommission
or Re-power
>1-year
Potential Effects/Benefits
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Viewshed
Sea mammals
Fisheries
Avian
Hydrography & Coastal effects
Seabed
Artificial Reef
Socioeconomics
Community ownership
Noise/Vibrations
Radar/Radio Disturbances
(military/commercial uses)
Transmission Lines
Subsea Cables
Electromagnetic Fields
Navigation & Risk collision
Air Traffic Safety
Marine Archaeology
Cumulative Effects (e.g., air quality)
Site Assessment – Micro-siting
Wind/Wave Design Basis
3.0
Wave
height
Bølgehøjde
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
Capewind Avian Radar
0.0
0
5
10
15
20
Vindhastighed
Wind
speed
Capewind MET Tower
60-m
Cape Wind
Nantucket Sound
• 468 MW =
130 - 3.6 MW GE turbines
• About 24 square miles
• Two lawsuits
• Meteorological Tower
installed
• Draft EIS issued
(Nov. 04)
• Lack of political support
Cape Wind Project Status
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Federal Jurisdiction
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ENF/USACOE application filed – fall 2001
DEIS/DEIR – released November 2004
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Currently reviewing 5000 comments
State Jurisdiction
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Energy Facility Siting Board filing – fall 2002
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Decision approving the Cape Wind project was released
May 2005
CZMA determination pending
Long Island Power Authority
Long Island Sound
 100 -150 MW
 LIPA - a municipal utility
 Guaranteeing purchase power agreement
 Substation construction
 Early public involvement process
 Strong state political support
 LIPA selected FPL Energy as the developer
May 2004
Long Island Power Authority
Jones Beach
• April 2005 Section 10 permit
application
– Public comment period
ended August 12, 2005
– Imminent NEPA decision
• 3/2004 – Aerial & boat
surveys weekly during
migration seasons & monthly
in off-season through next
spring
• Marine radar – 9/2005
Onshore and Offshore
fall and spring
• Construction start April 2008
Consistent Policy Needed!
• Muddled institutional & legal
boundaries
– Jurisdictional control shifted to
MMS August 2005
– New regulations by May 2006
• No national offshore wind strategy
– Federal agencies setting their
own policies
– Lead role for States (MA, NY, NJ)
– Regional collaboratives
Uncertainties
• Regulated Species & Habitats
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Ecological risk assessment methods
Best available data & standards
Quantified environmental benefits
Cumulative effects
• No national experience with the
technology
– Need for education and debate
• Market-driven development requires
due diligence - Land speculators
Learning Curve
• History of land-based
permitting
– Siting criteria is critical
– Need standardized protocols
– Lack of baseline data
• Need collaborations between
industry, government & NGOs
to define & fund studies
• Viewshed is important
– Not near my beach!
– “Put it further away in deeper
water!”
Recommendations for
State Agencies
 Verify Offshore Wind Resource
 Conduct Feasibility Studies
 Designate development zones & map exclusion
areas
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Establish Strategic Planning Team
Establish One-stop Shop for Permitting
Leverage Resources for Baseline Studies
Involve Stakeholders Early
Consider Costs and Benefits
THANK YOU