Invenergy NE Offshore Wind, LLC (OCS-A 0562)

Background

On October 29, 2024, the Department of Interior announced the results of an offshore wind energy lease sale on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the Gulf of Maine. The auction resulted in two provisional winners on four lease areas and over $21.9 million in winning bids.

Invenergy NE Offshore Wind, LLC won Lease OCS-A 0562 at $4,892,700, which consists of 97,854 acres and is approximately 46.2 nm from Maine and Lease OCS-A 0567 at $5,889,000 which consists of 117,780 acres is approximately 21.6 nm from Massachusetts.

Invenergy NE Offshore Wind is in the preliminary period of BOEM’s authorization process. The preliminary period begins on the effective date of the lease and ends either when a Construction and Operations Plan (COP) is received by BOEM for review or at the expiration of five years, whichever occurs first.

For more information on this lease area, lease history, including the Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force meetings, please visit the Gulf of Maine page. For up-to-date leasing information, including the original lease and any lease amendments that may have occurred since initial lease execution, visit the Data Center at the following link: https://www.data.boem.gov/Other/FileRequestSystem/ScanREnLeases.aspx.
 

As required by the lease, the leaseholder is required to develop publicly available communication plans. Additional information is provided below.  

The Native American Tribes Communication Plan describes the strategies that the Lessee intends to use for communicating with federally recognized Tribes and outlines methods for engaging with and disseminating information to federally recognized Tribes with cultural and/or historical ties to the lease area.    

The Fisheries Communication Plan describes the strategies that the Lessee intends to use for communicating with commercial and recreational fisheries prior to and during activities in support of the submission of a plan, such as a Site Assessment Plan or Construction and Operations Plan.  The plan includes information on the distribution of “Notice to Mariners” and other outreach and coordination. Additionally, the plan includes the lessee’s Fisheries Liaison as a primary point of contact and a process to file complaints with the lessee and seek replacement of or compensation for lost gear.  

The Agency Communication Plan describes the strategies that the Lessee intends to use for communicating with federal, state, and local agencies with authority related to the lease area. The plan outlines specific methods for engaging with and disseminating information related to permits and trust resources to these agencies.  

These communications plans will be available in the summer of 2025 on the lessee’s website and will be updated and refined over time. 

As required by the lease, the leaseholder is required to submit progress reports to BOEM every six months until approval of a Construction and Operations Plan. The intent of the progress report is to improve Lessee communication and transparency with Tribes and other parties, including:

• Coastal communities
• Commercial and recreational fishing industries
• Educational and research institutions
• Environmental and public interest non-governmental organizations
• Federal, state, and local agencies
• Federally recognized Tribes
• General public
• Mariners and the maritime industry
• Ocean users
• Submarine cable operators

This project’s first progress report will be available in the summer of 2025. 

The lessee has not submitted a Construction and Operations Plan (COP) for BOEM review. Once a COP is submitted, BOEM will post it here.

The lessee has not submitted a Construction and Operations Plan (COP) for BOEM review. Lease-specific environmental review based on the COP will be updated here.