Wind Energy Lease Final Sale

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[Docket No. BOEM–2018–0043]

Atlantic Wind Lease Sale 4A (ATLW–4A) for Commercial Leasing for Wind Power on the Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Massachusetts—Final Sale Notice

AGENCY

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior.

ACTION

Final Sale Notice for Commercial Leasing for Wind Power on the Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Massachusetts.

SUMMARY

This document is the Final Sale Notice (FSN) for the sale of commercial wind energy leases on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore Massachusetts. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will offer three leases: Lease OCS–A 0520, Lease OCS–A 0521, and Lease OCS–A 0522 (Lease Areas), which are located within the former Leases OCS–A 0502 and Lease OCS–A 0503 that were unsold during the Atlantic Wind Lease Sale–4 (ATLW–4) on January 29, 2015. BOEM will use an ascending bidding auction format. The FSN contains information pertaining to the areas available for leasing, certain provisions and conditions of the leases, auction details, the lease form, criteria for evaluating competing bids, award procedures, appeal procedures, and lease execution.

The issuance of the lease(s) resulting from this sale would not constitute an approval of project-specific plans to develop offshore wind energy. Such plans, if submitted by the lessee, would be subject to subsequent environmental, technical, and public reviews prior to a decision on whether the proposed development should be authorized.

DATES

BOEM will hold a mock auction for the bidders starting at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on December 11, 2018. The monetary auction will be held online and will begin at 9:00 a.m. EST on December 13, 2018. Additional details are provided in the section entitled ‘‘Deadlines and Milestones for Bidders.’’

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

Jeff Browning, BOEM, Office of Renewable Energy Programs, 45600 Woodland Road, VAM–OREP, Sterling, Virginia 20166, (703) 787–1577 or Jeffrey.Browning@boem.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority

This FSN is published pursuant to subsection 8(p) of the OCS Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(p)), as amended by section 388 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and the implementing regulations at 30 CFR part 585, including sections 211 and 216.

Background

BOEM proposed this lease sale on April 11, 2018, in the Atlantic Wind Lease Sale 4A (ATLW– 4A) Commercial Leasing for Wind Power on the Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Massachusetts—Proposed Sale Notice (PSN), which was published in the Federal Register (83 FR 15618). A 60-day comment period followed. BOEM received 21 comment submissions in response to the PSN, which are available on regulations.gov (Docket ID: BOEM–2018–0016) at: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=BOEM-2018-0016.BOEM has posted its responses to comments submitted during the PSN comment period. The document, entitled Response to Comments, can be found through BOEM’s website at: https://www.boem.gov/Commercial-Wind-Leasing/Massachusetts/Lease-Sale-4A/.

To read the complete BOEM National Register posting see: https://www.boem.gov/FSN-ATLW-4A