The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is hosting three public meetings to discuss the feedback received from the Call for Information and Nominations published in April to obtain information on potential offshore wind energy leasing and development in the New York Bight.
BOEM received 132 comments and nine nominations for the four proposed call areas delineated as Fairways North, Fairways South, Hudson North, and Hudson South, and will present its analysis at the meetings.
The first event will take place on 17 September at the Shade Tree Community Center in Riverhead, New York, followed by the second meeting a day after in Waypoint Event Center at Fairfield Inn & Suites in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The third meeting is scheduled for 20 September in the Long Branch Library in New Jersey.
All three meetings will be held from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. local time. The participants will also have an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback to help inform BOEM’s decision-making process.
The New York Bight area is a region of shallow waters between Long Island to the north and east and the New Jersey coast to the south and west. The four call areas include 222 whole Outer Continental Shelf blocks and 172 partial blocks, comprising approximately 2,047 square nautical miles.
With the call, BOEM sought nominations from companies interested in commercial offshore wind energy leases within the proposed areas, as well as public input on the potential for wind energy development, including site conditions, resources, and other uses of the sea and seabed either in or near the call areas.