Bureau of Ocean Energy Management May 23, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The purpose of this public notice is to: (1) Describe the Deepwater Wind Block Island LLC (Deepwater Wind) Transmission System (BITS) proposal submitted to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM); (2) solicit submissions of indications of competitive interest for a right-of-way (ROW) grant for renewable energy purposes for the area identified in this notice; and (3) solicit public input regarding the proposal, its potential environmental consequences, and other uses of the area in which the proposal would be located. On November 30, 2011, BOEM received an application from Deepwater Wind for a ROW grant on the OCS offshore Rhode Island. Deepwater Wind's proposed project, the BITS, would entail the construction and installation of a bi-directional submerged transmission cable between Block Island and the Rhode Island mainland. Deepwater Wind has requested a ROW grant for the portion of the BITS cable that is proposed on the OCS. Deepwater Wind proposes that the BITS would serve two purposes: (1) Transmit electrical power from Deepwater Wind's proposed 30 megawatt (MW) offshore wind energy project located in Rhode Island State waters off Block Island to the Rhode Island mainland; and (2) transmit electrical power from the existing transmission grid on the Rhode Island mainland to Block Island. This RFCI is published pursuant to subsection 8(p)(3) of the OCS Lands Act, as amended by section 388 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) (43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(3)), and the implementing regulations at 30 CFR part 585. Subsection 8(p)(3) of the OCS Lands Act requires that OCS renewable energy leases, easements, and rights-of-way be issued ``on a competitive basis unless the Secretary determines after public notice of a lease, easement, or right-of-way that there is no competitive interest.'' This RFCI provides such public notice for the proposed ROW grant area requested by Deepwater Wind and invites the submission of indications of competitive interest. BOEM will consider the responses to this public notice to determine whether competitive interest exists for the area requested by Deepwater Wind, as required by 43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(3). Parties wishing to obtain a grant for the area requested by Deepwater Wind should submit detailed and specific information as described in the section entitled, ``Required Indication of Interest Information.'' This announcement also requests that interested and affected parties comment and provide information about site conditions and existing and future uses of the area identified in this notice that would be relevant to the proposed project or its impacts. The information that BOEM is requesting is described in the section entitled, ``Requested Information from Interested or Affected Parties.''