The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has issued a Record of Decision identifying environmental measures expected to be applied to future wind energy development of the six lease areas offshore New York and New Jersey in an area known as the New York Bight.
BOEM estimates that full development of the six lease areas could generate up to seven GW of offshore wind energy, enough to power up to two million homes.
This decision follows BOEM’s announcement of the New York Bight Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement on October 21, 2024. The six lease areas cover over 488,000 acres (197,000 hectares).
The record of decision identifies 58 previously applied avoidance, minimisation, mitigation, and monitoring (AMMM) measures BOEM plans to apply across the six lease areas. To reduce potential environmental impacts, developers can consider these measures in the Construction and Operations Plans they submit to BOEM for subsequent review under the National Environmental Policy Act.
Project-specific environmental reviews may include revised, additional, or different AMMM measures if needed to further reduce potential impacts.
The “Notice of Availability of a Record of Decision for Expected Wind Energy Development in the New York Bight” will be published in the Federal Register on Friday, December 6.
For further information, please visit BOEM’s website.