The first line of offshore wind farms in the Gulf of Mexico will have much less space than the federal government proposed late last year.
A new wind energy lease-sale plan released Wednesday by the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management cuts the Gulf’s offshore wind energy development areas by two-thirds, potentially cutting the number of jobs and clean energy the region’s leaders are consuming had hoped that wind farms would generate in the wind farms in the years to come. BOEM’s decision to reduce the size of wind farms aims to defuse potential conflicts with the Gulf’s many other users, including the oil and gas industry, shipping companies and the military.
The new boundaries include a 102,000-acre area south of Lake Charles and two areas near Galveston, Texas that are likely to be reduced to a zone covering approximately 100,000 acres. The total combined area of the gulf will likely be just under 200,000 acres, according to BOEM officials. This is a significant reduction from the 682,000 acres BOEM proposed in October.
It’s unclear how much the smaller areas could dampen prospects for offshore wind development, which has been promoted as a powerful force for job creation and clean energy in a region with deep but fading ties to the oil and gas industry.
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BOEM had estimated that the larger, 682,000-acre site could generate power for nearly 3 million homes, or enough power for all residents of Houston, New Orleans and Baton Rouge. On Wednesday, BOEM reduced its estimate to 1.3 million homes, but that number could be lowered again after the two Galveston zones were reduced to a single area.
A variety of industrial and environmental concerns have been raised regarding offshore wind energy in the Gulf. The region is heavily used by the oil and gas, shipping and fishing industries – all of which have urged BOEM to keep wind turbines away from the areas where they operate. The US Department of Defense and Coast Guard have also called for additional restrictions on shipping and military operations.
Most public contributions to the wind zones have come from Texas groups and residents. The survival of the migratory birds that cross the Gulf by the millions each year has been a major concern for many Texas residents.
Mandeville-based Keystone Engineering and several other Louisiana companies helped design and build the Block Island Wind Farm off the coast of Rhode Island in 2016. Block Island was the first offshore wind farm in US waters.
Courtesy of Keystone Engineering
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Despite the sharp reduction in land available for wind farms, business leaders remain optimistic about the future of the industry in the Gulf, pointing out that BOEM is likely to open more offshore wind farms in later stages of development.
State Assemblyman Joseph Orgeron, a Larose Republican who works in the offshore wind industry, doubts the reduction will have much of an impact. BOEM is essentially cutting the fat, leaving plenty of prime offshore real estate for the burgeoning industry to make their first forays into the Gulf, he said.
“We still have a heck of a lot of open space for some very big projects,” said Orgeron, who helped build America’s first offshore wind farm, a project completed off the coast of Rhode Island in 2016, and owner of 2nd Wind Marine is in Galliano. “The original territory (proposed by BOEM) may have been an exaggeration of what was realistic, but now they’re scaling it back.”
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Recreational fishing boats pass wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean near Block Island, Rhode Island in September 2021.
PERSONAL PHOTO OF CHRIS GRANGER
RWE, a German energy company and one of the world’s largest wind developers, remains interested in building wind farms near Louisiana.
“Despite the reduction in leased acreage in Louisiana, we still see opportunities for commercial-scale offshore wind projects in the Gulf,” said Katie Theoharides, RWE’s US wind projects manager
Michael Hecht, CEO of economic development organization Greater New Orleans Inc., said Louisiana’s offshore oil and gas industry offers “an existing energy workforce” that will benefit from the growth of offshore wind energy, whether in the Gulf or elsewhere. Several Louisiana companies, including metal fabricators, boat operators and marine engineers, have seen their job prospects in the oil and gas industry dwindle while new opportunities have opened up in East Coast wind farm projects.
BOEM’s decision to reduce the Gulf’s offshore wind farms comes as the agency is embarking on a months-long process that will eventually lead to an offshore wind farm auction, potentially later this year.
The platforms for these Atlantic Ocean wind turbines near Block Island, Rhode Island were fabricated in southern Louisiana.
PERSONAL PHOTO OF CHRIS GRANGER
The American Clean Power Association called the start of the auction process “another significant milestone” for wind power production in the Gulf.
“This proposed lease sale will continue the legacy of power generation in the Gulf of Mexico (and provide Americans with an affordable clean energy supply),” said Josh Kaplowitz, vice president of the Offshore Wind Energy Association.
BOEM proposes several lease requirements aimed at boosting economic development in the Gulf region. The agency may require bidders to offer support for wind power training programs and a special fund that compensates commercial fishermen adversely affected by wind farms.
Opening more federal waters to offshore wind is part of President Joe Biden’s administration’s effort to generate 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030. To date, two offshore wind farms are operational in US waters and two more are under construction near Massachusetts and New York. Several other projects are planned along the east coast.
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