The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has completed an environmental review to assess potential wind development activities off the coast of New York and New Jersey in an area known as the New York Bight. This is the first time BOEM has conducted a regional analysis of offshore renewable energy development activities across multiple lease areas. 

According to the BOEM, following the environmental review of six wind lease areas covering more than 488,000 acres, full development in the zone is estimated to generate up to 7 GW of offshore wind energy, enough to power up to two million homes. 

BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein noted that "BOEM has gathered input from tribes, federal and state government agencies, local communities, ocean users, and key stakeholders as part of our comprehensive environmental review." 

In February 2022, BOEM held an auction that raised more than $4.3 billion for the rights to six lease areas in the New York Bight, a record amount for any offshore conventional or renewable energy lease sale in the U.S. 

The BOEM prepared a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) to analyze the potential environmental impacts of offshore wind energy activities in the six New York Bight lease areas. The Proposed Action for the PEIS identifies the avoidance, minimization, mitigation, and monitoring measures (AMMM) that BOEM may require as conditions for approving the activities proposed by lessees in individual construction and operations plans submitted for these six lease areas. Additional environmental analyses specific to each proposed project would build on the PEIS. 

The final programmatic environmental impact statement for the anticipated offshore wind development in the New York Bight will be published in the Federal Register on October 25, 2024. 

Earlier in 2024, BOEM held five public meetings and eight regional environmental justice forums between 2022 and 2024 to receive input on the draft PEIS from tribal nations, local community members, government partners, and ocean users. 

The final PEIS analyzes 58 AMMM measures previously applied to offshore wind activities and eight measures that have not been applied before but may help reduce potential impacts. 

After the BOEM announced the completion of this environmental review, Anne Reynolds, ACP’s vice president for offshore wind, stated that “the six lease areas off the coasts of New Jersey and New York will host the next series of offshore wind projects to meet the growing demand for electricity on the East Coast. This environmental review of the entire lease area is a vital step toward establishing a more standardized and efficient permitting process. It reflects broad outreach and input from diverse stakeholders, including tribal and community members and other ocean users, ensuring that a wide range of perspectives has been considered.”