Page 19: of Marine News Magazine (November 2015)

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Federal Regs: the safety and environmental manage- been some progress at home. Tell us about it.

ment systems (SEMS) are being audited. What’s the

BOEM has awarded nine commercial wind energy leases initial feedback from your stakeholders on how that off the Atlantic coast: two noncompetitively issued leases is proceeding?

(one for the proposed Cape Wind project in Nantucket

SEMS is clearly still a work in progress, as are the au-

Sound offshore Massachusetts and one offshore Delaware) diting requirements. Some initial audit reports were not and seven competitively-issued leases (two offshore Rhode satisfactory to the regulator and most companies have Island-Massachusetts, two offshore Massachusetts, two off- been striving to make their audits more acceptable and also shore Maryland, and one offshore Virginia). The competi- useful to the regulator without unwittingly opening the tive lease sales generated about $14.5 million in winning door for potential INC’s. The Center for Offshore Safety bids for more than 700,000 acres in federal waters. BOEM is working with auditors to assure a consistent approach will hold a competitive lease sale offshore New Jersey on and accurate measurements of success as the next round November 9, 2015, and has completed an environmental of audits commence. Progress is certainly being made and assessment in preparation for a future lease sale offshore fortunately dialogue continues between the industry and North Carolina. NOIA member company Deepwater the regulators to keep improving the process and reducing Wind is currently constructing America’s ? rst commercial the time and red tape associated with audits.

scale offshore wind farm -- a ? ve-turbine, 30-megawatt wind farm in Rhode Island state waters about three nauti-

Offshore wind: seemingly stalled here offshore U.S., cal miles southeast of Block Island.

while the rest of the world plows ahead, there has www.marinelink.com MN 19

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