摘要: |
A formal agreement between the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Army Corps of Engineers will pull more resources into federal planning for offshore wind energy, helping BOEM deal with the Biden administration's big push to open more federal waters to leasing. Announced in mid-June, the agreement allows the Corps to provide BOEM with additional scientific and technical resources needed to evaluate offshore wind projects on the Outer Continental Shelf. "While the scope of the agreement covers all renewable energy activities in the Atlantic, the initial focus will be on the USACE supporting the review of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Commercial project and the Kitty Hawk project" off North Carolina, according to a BOEM statement. The new partnership is the latest development out of a Biden executive order directing closer interagency consultation between the Department of the Interior and Department of Defense to "increase renewable energy production on public lands and in offshore waters, while ensuring robust protection for our lands, waters, and biodiversity and creating good-paying jobs," the agency said. |