The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted the government’s motion for summary judgment on May 17, 2023, in a case seeking to invalidate agency approvals of the first utility-scale offshore wind project...more
6/1/2023
/ BOEM ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Policies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
NEPA ,
Offshore Wind ,
Renewable Energy ,
State and Local Government ,
Wind Power
The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) issued Notice 2023-38 (the Notice) on May 12, 2023, which contains the first rules concerning the domestic content bonus credits for renewable electricity, renewable natural gas,...more
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a combined Notice of Intent and Request for Information (NOI) on May 9, 2023, that proposes a new applicant-driven, route-specific process to designate National Interest Electric...more
5/18/2023
/ Applications ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Electricity ,
Energy Sector ,
Financing ,
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ,
Loans ,
NEPA ,
Notice of Intent ,
Power Grid ,
Request For Information ,
Transmission Lines
The Biden administration (the Administration) has set ambitious goals to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to at least 50% below 2005 levels by 2030 and to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. To achieve these ends, the...more
5/15/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Electricity ,
Energy Reform ,
Energy Sector ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
NEPA ,
Net Zero ,
Transmission Lines
The Maryland General Assembly passed the Promoting Offshore Wind Energy Resources Act (POWER Act) on April 10, 2023, committing the state to develop 8.5 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2031. The POWER Act also vaults...more
The first quarter of 2023 saw a flurry of activity from state and federal agencies focused on offshore wind transmission. In early January, multiple states in New England jointly filed with the U.S. Department of Energy Grid...more
The Biden Administration bolstered its ambitious clean energy goals this week by announcing the Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen report, along with $750 million in funding for research, development, and...more
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) released a Proposed Sale Notice (PSN) on February 24, 2023, for the simultaneous auction of three potential offshore wind energy leases in the Gulf of Mexico. The currently...more
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced on December 5, 2022, that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will develop an updated Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) to help guide solar energy...more
On December 6-7, 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) held its third offshore wind lease sale this year—and the first of its kind for floating wind—bringing in $757.1 million from five lease areas off the...more
The Biden-Harris administration launched Version 1.0 of its Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) on Tuesday, November 22, 2022. This tool is a key component of the administration’s environmental justice...more
As the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has ramped up offshore wind development to meet the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of generating 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, the question of how the expansion of...more
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued its Final Sale Notice (FSN) on October 18, 2022, for the first offshore wind energy leases on the west coast of the United States. With the lease sale scheduled for December...more
Five New England states issued a Request for Information (RFI) on September 1, seeking comment from interested stakeholders by October 14, 2022, on changes and upgrades to the regional electric transmission system to...more
The $437 billion Inflation Reduction Act, H.R. 5376 (IRA), signed into law on August 16, 2022, by President Biden, makes historic investments in clean energy. The IRA allocates $369 billion toward energy security, carbon...more
Governor Kathy Hochul announced the release of New York’s third competitive Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificate (OREC) solicitation on July 27, 2022. Through the solicitation, the New York State Energy Research and...more
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published its notice of intent (NOI) on Friday, July 15, 2022, to prepare a programmatic environmental review to analyze the potential impacts of wind energy development activities...more
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published its Proposed Sale Notice (PSN) on May 31, 2022, for what would be the first ever offshore wind energy leases on the west coast of the United States. The sale would span...more
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) held its second offshore wind lease sale of 2022 off the East Coast on May 11, bringing in $315 million from two lease areas in the Carolina Long Bay. The lease sale was unique in...more
Climate change poses the biggest threat to our ocean and to the future of the planet. Its harmful impacts can be mitigated by decarbonizing our energy grid. Achieving major carbon emissions reductions in the electricity...more
5/16/2022
/ BOEM ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Sector ,
FERC ,
Infrastructure ,
Offshore Wind ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Renewable Energy ,
Research and Development
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) released its final sale notice (FSN) for two lease areas totaling 110,091 acres in the Carolina Long Bay Area on March 25, 2022. The auction for these lease areas will be held...more
Offshore wind energy development gained momentum at the end of February, as the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) held the largest offshore wind lease sale ever in the United States. From February 23-25, BOEM auctioned...more
New York Bight Lease Sale Under Attack -
A New Jersey-based nonprofit organization, Save Long Beach Island, and its president sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in January 2022. They are asserting...more
3/25/2022
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
BOEM ,
Business Litigation ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Infrastructure ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
NEPA ,
Offshore Wind ,
State and Local Government
Offshore wind development in the United States continues to draw opposition from coastal landowners, businesses, organizations, and other users of ocean waters, as it has since the industry first emerged here. However,...more
President Biden signed an executive order (Order) on December 8, 2021, directing the federal government to use its scale and procurement power to slash its carbon emissions by 65% by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by...more
12/17/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Energy ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Reform ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Net Zero ,
Renewable Energy ,
Sustainability