Lease Planning Activities
The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act requires BOEM to award renewable energy leases competitively, unless BOEM determines there is no competitive interest.
In September, 2018, BOEM received an unsolicited lease request from the Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA). The proposed project area requested by RCEA is within the Humboldt Call Area identified in the Call for Information and Nominations (Call) published on October 19, 2018.
In January 2016, BOEM received an unsolicited request for a commercial lease from Trident Winds LLC. (Trident Winds). In order to determine competitive interest, BOEM published a notice in the Federal Register, "Potential Commercial Lease for Wind Power on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Offshore California - Request for Interest (RFI) in Docket No. BOEM-2016-0051 on August 18, 2016.
The objective of the RFI was to determine whether or not other companies were interested in developing in the areas proposed in the unsolicited lease request (i.e., to determine competitive interest.) BOEM received one expression of interest from Statoil Wind US, LLC.
Based on responses to the RFI, there is competitive interest offshore California and BOEM and the State of California have initiated the competitive planning and leasing process for possible future leasing for offshore wind development off California.
BOEM is currently working with the State of California on planning for potential leasing for offshore wind in federal waters off California.